Hurricanes
by Myriad-13
Summary: Post-Movie. Just when you think the storm is easing off, it just gets worse. A month into their relationship, Beca and Jesse are tested by Beca's mother's desire to see her out of Barden. Inspired by The Script's 'Hurricanes.'
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This is the beginning of my first chapter fic for this fandom. It was inspired by The Script's 'Hurricanes' which I feel definitely describes this pairing. Also, I'm making Beca's mum a total bitch in this, so Dr. Mitchell is going to come off as a nice guy who tied to do the best he could. This fic is about Jesse and Beca going through crap early on in their romantic relationship, and how it strengthens them.

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes – Chapter 1 – It All Starts with a Text**

* * *

_Neither one of us is getting out of here alive__  
__Both of us are stranded and we won't make it back inside__  
__The whole world is blowing away, we just watch it pass us by__  
__We're swept up off our feet when we meet in the northern sky_  
The Script - Hurricanes

* * *

Life should be getting easier.

The Bellas won the ICCA's, she finally smoothed things out with Jesse (in the most spectacular and best of ways), and she's pretty sure that she's passed all of her courses this year.

Life should give her a break.

Beca, staring at the text message on her phone, realised that all her troubles aren't over at all. If anything, things had just gotten more complicated.

* * *

She moved like a zombie over the grounds of Barden University – slow, unaware that she was wearing fuzzy black boots with her jeans and top – shrouded in the long shadows of the evening. She could only think of one person that she could turn to over all others. He's the only person that she would trust to listen impartially.

There's no one wandering around his dorm building, a relief because she's afraid she'll break out of her frozen state too soon and he won't be there to pick up the pieces.

She knocked, and the door opened to the most wonderful sight.

"Jesse," Beca breathed.

His gentle smile dropped at her emotional distress, written plainly on her face, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Beca couldn't speak, pushed to the brink of her limits. Jesse sensed this and gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into the room with little effort. He's glad for the first time in a week that Benji left early to go back to Ohio. He's glad they're alone so he can find out what's got Beca so stony faced and trembling. "Beca?" he murmured, sitting next to her on his bed.

Beca blinked and turned to her boyfriend of a month, and felt the words rushing to her brain, filling her head, leaving her fuzzy and desolate. Now, to get them out would be the trick. "Jesse…I…my mum, s-she…"

Jesse drew her closer to his body, rubbing her arm in attempt to calm her down. "Whatever it is, you don't have to tell me. It's okay, Becs," he said comfortingly.

She shook her head, snorting derisively. "No, it's not, Jesse."

He frowned, peering into her eyes, dark blue with turmoil. A tingle of something unpleasant ran down his spine, like when he was watching gory thrillers that freaked the crap out of him. "Can I do anything?" he offered feebly.

"Maybe if we could go back in time and reverse my mother's personality so she'd be the Betty Crocker type, that'd help," Beca replied bitterly.

Jesse's frown deepened. "Beca, what's going on?"

Beca just decided it'd be better to show him than tell him. She fumbled for her phone inside her jeans pocket, yanking it out and tapping on it to reveal the text message she had gotten less than an hour ago, when everything she had gotten used to was threatened – to be pulled out from underneath her feet. Her frazzled nerves were calmed slightly when Jesse pressed a kiss to her temple as he took the phone from her hands. She felt him tense as he read, the hand on her arm suddenly tightening. A muttered curse escaped from Jesse's lips and a brief smirk flitted across Beca's face. Regardless of the situation, hearing inventive curses from Jesse was funny.

"Is this for real? She can't do this, you're doing amazing!" Jesse burst out, his emotions quickly building. He turned back to her, wide brown Bambi eyes filled with apprehension.

"She's going to try," Beca replied, sighing.

"That's not fair on you Beca. She can't pull you out of Barden and force you to go to Harvard Law School. That's the furthest thing from your dream," he said in shock.

Hearing that made Beca slump in her place against him, leeching off the warmth from his body. "I thought she was finally letting me free a little, but I guess I was wrong."

Jesse's eyes darkened with anger at what had happened to Beca, practically tasting the bitterness and heartbreak in each syllable. "I know you don't like to talk about your family. But, maybe, I could understand just why this is happening now," he suggested carefully, fully preparing to be rebuffed and pushed away like she had done before.

The petite woman was still for a few moments before abruptly pushing Jesse down and lying on top of him so they both faced the ceiling. He wrapped his arms around her immediately, smiling a little when Beca's hands rose to clasp his own. "Can't look me in the eye?" he asked.

"I'm hoping it'll be easier this way. Like I'm talking to myself."

"Sure. Talking to yourself while using your boyfriend as a mat," Jesse replied, getting a snicker from Beca.

"You're distracting me," she accused.

He nodded. That was his intention.

Beca focussed on the two tone colouring of the ceiling, the line where Benji had finished his black and left Jesse's side taupe. "My parents divorced when I was 12," she began haltingly. "At the time, I blamed my father because he seemed to just walk out of the picture, and never came back. In the meantime, life was hard for me. My mum was strict. Very strict. Like if I was more than ten minutes late home from school she'd go off at me."

"That hardly seems fair," Jesse remarked.

"She's a lawyer. She gets very stressed in her job," Beca replied softly. "And she justified it because she thought I'd go off doing things like taking drugs or meeting up with boys. That never happened – I was too much of a recluse after my parents' divorce." Caught up in the pain of those years, striving so hard to be a good daughter to make up for whatever gap her dad had made in their lives, Beca's voice trembled slightly. "I eventually realised how much my dad shielded me from her. She was always controlling, but I had never been the focus of her attention until then. She ordered me around, never let me see my dad although we talked on the phone. Then I grew to blame him for leaving me with my mother, unable to cope with the constant disapproval."

Jesse could see where this was going and stayed dutifully silent.

"I got to 16, to the point where I went, 'Screw it, she thinks I'm up to no good anyway.' That day I got my first tattoo – the three teardrops on my shoulder," Beca went on. She smirked. "Man, she went postal."

"Did she hurt you?" Jesse asked concernedly.

"Not physically. She called me names I'd rather not repeat," she replied, relishing in the squeeze of comfort Jesse gave her.

"What next?"

"The dark make-up and nails. I ended up really liking that, so it stuck. After that, my piercings. Only on my ears though, I haven't really wanted them anywhere else."

Jesse's fingers smoothed out over her stomach and he broke the tension by murmuring, "Donald owes me five bucks. I told him you wouldn't have a belly button piercing."

Beca scowled, "You guys bet on me?"

"No. I said that to distract you again," he replied calmly, nuzzling into her hair.

Beca swore her heart melted at that action. "Anyway," she cleared her throat, "I've got four other tattoos since. She doesn't know about two, but when I got the roses, my mum got the program she was going to give me for my birthday and returned it to the store in punishment for me being 'so rebellious.'" She paused and remembered what Jesse had said that day she had tried to apologise to him. "It's around that time that I started pushing everyone away even more than I had before."

The silence stretched on after that, Jesse absorbing the information while Beca internally cringed at how 'American Idol sob story' she sounded. And there was more to say. But she figured it could wait until she felt up to speaking about her mother again.

Jesse, attuned to Beca as he was, didn't press for more. He was surprised she even said _that_ much. "What's your mother's name?" he asked, that one last thing he wanted to know.

"Vicki Parting – she dropped Mitchell after…" Beca trailed off, shifting uncomfortably. She was done.

Jesse wisely switched the topic. He sat them both up, his fingers playing along the hem of Beca's shirt. "So, out of curiosity, where are these other two tattoos? I know the teardrops, the roses, the infinity sign before your elbow. What else are you hiding underneath the punk clothes?"

Beca flushed. To show her boyfriend the other two she would have to remove her shirt. Peering over her shoulder at him, she found honesty in those eyes. Damn, they made her melt all the time. Deciding not to speak, Beca reached for the bottom of her t-shirt and pulled it up over her head in response to Jesse's question.

He sucked in a breath, marveling at Beca's pale, smooth skin – seeing it for the first time. The tattoos were easily visible and he murmured, "Wow. You mind if I touch them?"

"Go ahead," Beca replied, leaning forward so Jesse could have easier access to her back.

Jesse reached out, admiring the contrast of his tanned skin against her more pallid shade. His eyes were drawn immediately to the bright red phoenix on the left side of her back just above her hip. As his fingertips made contact, he felt Beca shiver and knew he felt the same tingle she had at the intimate touch. Gently, Jesse slid his fingers over the palm sized depiction of the mythical creature rising from the flames. "Cool," he approved, his eyes searching out the other tattoo. It was down Beca's right side, her arm half covering it. He pressed his lips to the nape of her neck while he shifted her arm to get a better look. "I think I like this one better," Jesse remarked with a grin.

It was an artistically conjoined treble and bass clef with slanted writing surrounding it. "Music makes sense," Jesse read aloud.

Beca shrugged, "Well, it does."

Teasingly, Jesse said, "I only like it because you've got the mark of a Treblemaker on you."

Beca smirked. "Oh dear, what would Aubrey say?" she asked sarcastically.

"Hmm…that you've been treble boned?"

Beca huffed out a small laugh as she slipped her shirt back on, momentarily disappointing Jesse by hiding her beautiful skin from him. "Where did you hear that term, because I'm pretty sure that she only used that around us."

"Bumper. He loved to annoy her about it and told us at initiation what kind of things we should expect," Jesse answered.

"The oath's been lifted. And even if it hasn't, I haven't been 'treble boned,'" Beca snorted, fingers making the quotation marks in the air.

Jesse couldn't resist and drew her slight form to him again, muttering cheekily, "Well, not yet."

"You're terrible!" Beca gasped mockingly.

"Aw, you like me anyway."

Beca leaned into his secure arms and confirmed, "Not only do I like you…I trust you."

"I know."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, this is the start. It's going to be full of drama, angst, hut/comfort, but I'll also add in heaps of romance and humour. I hoped everyone enjoyed this and if you do, leaving a review will definitely make my day. More to come next week. I hope to update this fic weekly. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Thank you so much to **TheAnnest** who pointed out that law school in the US takes a long time to get into (unlike Aus, where I'm from – you basically jump from high school straight into a law degree), so hopefully I've cleared that up in this chapter that Beca's mum Vicki wants to get Beca _on the trail_ to Harvard by keeping Beca in Boston.

I know I said I wouldn't update for a week, but I was just so excited that I got the reviews and follows that I did. So from now on it's going to be a week. I'll update at least every Thursday. Also, a big thank you to those who have reviewed and followed this fic. It's awesome!

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes – Chapter 2 – Telling Dad**

* * *

Dr. Mitchell sighed and passed his daughter's cell phone back to her. "I didn't expect this."

Beca, sitting opposite him, replied, "Neither did I. I mean, I thought she'd be happy by the fact that I've decided to stay in college."

"A decision I'm grateful for, by the way," he said warmly. It was rare Beca felt like he was proud of her so she gave him a smile. She looked down to her hands, clenched tightly in her lap. "I don't want to leave," she admitted. "I don't want to go back to Boston and study for, like, forever in the University and work my ass off for grades I won't get just so mum can have me happily in her alma mater. I don't want to waste more than four years studying for something I don't want."

"You shouldn't have to. You're an adult now. The agreement that your mom had control over what you did is over. Legally, she's got nothing, Beca," Dr. Mitchell pointed out. "Why don't you move out of Boston?"

Beca would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it before. But then, she didn't have any means to move out unless she was going to go to LA and push herself to the limit. The LA plans were on the back burner until she finished college. "Move out where?" she asked. "What do I do?"

"You could move in here," Dr. Mitchell offered tentatively. "We've got the two spare rooms. The only time you'd really have to spend with us is during the summer. You can be on campus all the time otherwise."

It was so simple, of course it didn't occur to Beca. Then again, her and her dad had only recently repaired their fractured relationship – especially since her dad finally revealed the truth about the divorce and why he had to leave Beca behind. Now, she had a chance. A chance to live with the father she never had, a chance to be free of her overly controlling mother. Ever so slightly hopeful, Beca murmured, "Just as long as Sheila doesn't cook while I'm around."

Dr. Mitchell laughed. "Is that your only condition?"

"So far…that is, _if_ I decide. I'm just really considering it right now," Beca cautioned. She didn't want her dad to get his hopes up just in case.

Her father closed his eyes and nodded. He then stood, checking his watch. "I hate to cut this short, but-"

"Duty calls?" Beca guessed.

"Yeah. But call me when you want to sort things out. It's all up to you."

Beca felt an unexpected wash of love for her dad. He was finally letting her take the reins a bit. She reached forward and – hating how much of a little kid she felt – hugged him briefly. "Thanks for trying to be more understanding dad."

"You made me see how hard you're trying. I can respect that, and you," he replied softly, returning her embrace before leading her out of the house, where they parted ways. Dr. Mitchell headed off towards campus while Beca headed for the Barden Diner.

The little bell tinkled overhead when she slipped through the door. She smiled at the owners behind the counter before heading for the back booth. A familiar head of dark hair was already there, waiting patiently. Beca smirked as Jesse bobbed his head to whatever tune he was listening to on his phone, creeping forward quietly until she was right behind him. She then poked him hard in the shoulder.

"Ah!" Jesse yelped, whirling around in his seat, earbuds flying out of his ears. "Jeez Beca!"

"You keep falling for that," Beca observed wryly.

"You're mean for continuing to torture me."

"You could always leave."

"If only I could. I think you've cast a spell over me, Miss Mitchell," Jesse said, waggling his eyebrows.

Chuckling, Beca lightly shoved him and murmured, "Dork," affectionately. As she sat down, the waitress came over and placed their usual orders in front of them. Jesse's chocolate milkshake and Beca's mocha one. She latched onto it greedily, relishing in the cool, sugary sweetness. Her enthusiasm made Jesse grin. "_Someone's_ thirsty."

"I didn't eat breakfast," she retorted.

"Ah, just like all rebels, sustained on the energy of those who oppose them," the movie nerd winked.

"Why are you always so cheery before noon?"

"Vitamins."

"And here I was thinking it was because of me," Beca teased.

"Well, that too," Jesse concurred, looking more boyish than ever with total adoration in his eyes.

"Easy lover boy, you're making the floor wet with your drool."

"_That's the look, that's the look, the look of love," _he sung, getting poked for his efforts._ "_Just call it the sea of love, baby," Jesse shot back, attempting to sound like Elvis. The accent was so bad it sent Beca off into laughter, dragging Jesse into her mirth.

Leaning back, Beca said, "That felt good."

Jesse loved seeing her laugh. It was the reason he was ridiculous most of the time, just to pull an amused look from Beca. "So, how'd it go?" There was no need to expand what he was asking, they both knew.

"Really good, actually. There's a few things I need to think about, but apart from that, it's great to know my dad's definitely in my corner," Beca replied, taking another huge sip from her milkshake.

"Not to mention me, the Bella's, and the Trebles too," added Jesse.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course."

They finished their drinks in comfortable silence before paying and leaving for the dorms. They chatted about the inconsequential things, like who had already left Barden early in the interim before the University 'officially' completed all courses before the summer, remembering everyone's drunken antics at the a capella seniors goodbyes, and just trading snark back and forth as they usually did. When they reached Jesse's room, Beca asked, "Okay, what movie am I falling asleep to today?"

Jesse huffed, "I promise you that you won't be sleeping with this one."

He went to his desk, grabbing the DVD and laptop, eagerly jumping on the bed and patting the space beside him.

Beca sighed, "I am going out with a man-child."

"You know it. I am the yin to your yang, the Clyde to your Bonnie, the Ben to your Jerry, and the cheese to your pizza. Now get over here," Jesse smirked.

Beca settled in next to him and muttered, "Okay weirdo, surprise me."

"It's called Die Hard. And I bet you that you're going to love it."

* * *

To Beca's surprise, she liked Die Hard. Not only was it action packed from the beginning, without a boring lead up, it kept her guessing until the end. She totally didn't expect that Karl guy to show up at the end. She thought he was dead.

"You didn't fall asleep," Jesse said smugly.

Beca shrugged, "It was good. That can go on the replay list."

The replay list was something that came up in the third week of movication. The replay list was made up of movies that Beca not only liked but lasted without being annoyed at Jesse's never-ending trivia.

Beca leaved back, noticing Jesse staring at her contemplatively. "What?"

He shifted, sliding an arm around her shoulders and murmuring, "I'm going to miss this."

Beca was touched, a little frisson of joy going through her at the admission from him. She was going to miss him too, but she wasn't going to confess it. She rolled her eyes and bumped against him amiably. "It's just the summer. There's things called 'technology' that we can use to communicate. It's not like this is forever," she said.

They both sobered, remembering what Vicki was trying to do. If she had her way, it would be forever.

Jesse carefully asked, "Can we talk about the huge Boston shaped elephant in the room?"

"Ask away. I'll answer what I like," Beca replied vaguely. She didn't like having to talk about these issues – opening up was hard.

Jesse took what he was given. "So what's her plan for you? Isn't getting into Harvard Law really hard?"

"It is," conceded Beca. "You have to get into the uni before the law. My mother is on the board at the university and would probably do what my dad did for me to get me in. But it takes years of study and really crazy high grades that I don't understand why she even wants me to attempt it. It's stupid."

"Beyond stupid. It's insane."

"She just wants to keep me under her thumb. She thinks producing music is lame," scowled Beca.

"Hey," Jesse said firmly, "She just can't see how talented you are. When you get to LA, you're going to rock the world."

The vote of confidence in her caused Beca to smile. "Yeah, I am," she said softly.

"There's my ear spike girl," he said, switching topics to lighten the mood they had dipped into. "Now, let's see if you like the next Die Hard just as much as this one."

"There's more?"

"Yep, another four."

Beca smirked. "Sweet."

* * *

She was playing her mixes for the drunken, excited crowd, lost in the sensation of the bass thudding through her body, the high of relief that the year of university was over. It was one last party for people all over campus before everyone moved out to their respective states and homes. Men and women looking to make one last drunken mistake were making out all over the frat house, beer flowed, and bodies danced, swaying from side to side.

Beca was above the general hubbub but surged with it, willing it to take all thoughts away from the uncertainty of tomorrow and the impending summer.

"Dingoes, wombats, eucalyptus stoners, oi!"

Beca chuckled as she heard Fat Amy's voice above the crowd, and looked over the left where the Australian was trying to crump, her curves jiggling everywhere. She waved when Amy spotted her.

The blonde giggled and waved back, drunkenly shouting, "Shawshank! Give me a Fat Amy beat so I can take these lucky fellas home!"

"Sure thing!" she called back.

Expertly, Beca mashed up Usher's 'Yeah' and Skrillex's 'Bangarang,' getting approving cries from the crowd. She searched for the few remaining Bella's, spotting Stacie immediately, practically sucking the lips off of Donald's head. Amy was still jiggling all over, thrusting her chest and butt out and waving her arms everywhere. Lily was sitting on a stool in front of the DJ station, and Beca could hear her beat boxing faintly. Cynthia Rose and Denise had disappeared up into the rooms of the house half an hour ago, so Beca didn't worry about them.

But where was…

Warmth enveloped her back as a warm voice whispered in her ear, "You look so sexy up here, you know that?"

Beca leaned back into her boyfriend's body, hot from the exertion of dancing. She took the cup of juice from him and chugged it. "No, I don't, but it's always nice to be told."

Jesse's hands settled on her hips, making them sway to the beat. He began to press kisses to the side of Beca's neck, causing her to squirm and protest, "Jesse! That tickles. Are you drunk?"

"Nope. Not at all. Not drunk. Nopeity, no. Well…maybe. A little," he slurred, nuzzling her skin and making her giggle. "But beer goggles or not, you're gorgeous. Wanna make out?"

Beca shook her head amusedly. "Sorry weirdo, I still have another half and hour to do before we can get out of here. And even then, I think you should be going straight to bed. Don't want your parents to pick you up hung-over, right?"

Jesse groaned and whined, "Why do you have to remind me?"

"Because I'm trying not to corrupt you," she replied with her trademark roll of her eyes. "I want to make a good impression when I meet them, and that includes you not having a hell of a hangover."

"Aw, Becs, who cares? They're gonna love you!" Jesse insisted with a silly drunk smile.

Beca just raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You owe me a mocha milkshake if they say something about your state in the morning."

"Deal. Now, kiss me."

"So demanding," Beca chided teasingly, before pressing her lips to his, savouring every second. She had to, because these were the memories she was going to take with her to Boston.

* * *

**A/N: I hope that cleared things up for everyone as to the Harvard thing. Reviews are always wonderful and appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thank you so, so much to the people who have added me to their story alert list/favourites, and who have reviewed. It's amazing! I can't wait to see everyone's responses to this chapter – I'm posting it just before I'm dashing off to my last exam. After today, my updates should be coming much quicker – most likely a chapter every 3 days at least.

Toodles!

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes – Chapter 3 – Boston Bound**

* * *

"Would you relax?"

"Telling someone to relax doesn't _help_ them to relax."

"You're meeting my parents. It's not a big deal," Jesse attempted to calm Beca.

Her eyes darted nervously from side to side, tapping her foot agitatedly against the ground, leaning back against the bench with her arms crossed. Not only was she nervous about meeting Jesse's family, the atmosphere of other students greeting their own families (whether joyfully or with huge, noisy sobs) had her on edge. She glared at the easy grace and posture of Jesse. "It _is_ a big deal. I don't want it to be an issue if they don't like me. I _want_ them to like me," she said bitingly.

"I understand that," Jesse said smoothly, "But my parents are easy going. Whatever makes me happy makes them happy."

Beca just continued to look annoyed. Jesse sighed and reassured, "Beca, if I thought they weren't going to like you, I wouldn't put you in this situation."

"Really?" she asked sceptically.

"Really," he nodded. He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze, intertwining their fingers. He bit back a smile as Beca muttered something about a 'sensitive, freaking romance nerd' under her breath.

They didn't have to wait too much longer before a dark silver sedan pulled up in front of the bench where they were sitting and a man and woman jumped out of the car enthusiastically. Beca could immediately tell they were his parents – it was like he was the perfect combination of their best features. Not only that, they all had the same bright smiles.

"Jesse!" his mum cried out, tackling her son in a hug as he stood up.

"Hi to you too, mum," he said, a slight flush creeping up his neck at his mother's affection. "Uh…can't breathe ma."

"Oh, sorry darling," the merry woman said, releasing him to his father, and they shared a handshake and a man-hug.

Beca watched this, studying their reactions, and felt a pang inside of her. Jesse was one of the lucky ones. His parents obviously adored him. And he adored them. She felt all prickly at such an intimate familial moment – like an intruder. She subtly looked away, checking her reflection on her phone to make sure she didn't look as uncomfortable as she was inside.

Disentangling himself from his parents, Jesse stepped back and turned, reaching for Beca and pulling her up to stand next to him. He whispered, "Be yourself," to her before introducing her to his mum and dad. "Hey, mum, dad, this is someone I want you to meet. This is Beca. My girlfriend."

Beca looked at them, smiling hesitantly at them and giving them a wave. "Hi. Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Swanson," she greeted politely, glad the nervous flopping of her stomach wasn't affecting her voice. She reached her hand forward for them to shake.

She should have known, by the way she had hugged Jesse, that his mum would embrace her just the same. "Oh Mrs. Swanson is my mother in law. It's nice to meet you too Beca. Call me Cheryl," Cheryl twittered happily, making Beca's eyes widen with the force of the hug. She was released and soft, sweet smelling hands cupped her face. "Oh, you're just as pretty as he described. I'm so glad he's found someone like you."

Beca's face turned bright red at the attention and her stomach's churning subsided, to be replaced by something unknown. Gratitude? Who knows, but she felt weird at the fact Cheryl had seen all of her appearance and didn't seem to care about the tattoos and piercings. People passing by on the street didn't even give her that courtesy.

"Cheryl, let the girl go. We don't want to scare her off," Jesse's dad chortled. He gently pried his wife away and offered his hand to shake. "I'm James."

Beca eyed his hand warily. "You're not going to pull me into a hug like Cheryl did, are you?"

The Swansons all laughed, and James turned to his son and proclaimed, "Jesse, I like this girl." He shook Beca's hand. "No worries Beca. I leave most of the hugging up to my wife, but be warned next time I might have to," he winked. It reminded her of the way Jesse winked at her.

Jesse nudged her shoulder with his own, looking smug and happy. "Told you," he said.

Beca flicked his shoulder. "You're ego is already huge, I'm not going to add to it."

"You owe me a milkshake – and you can't admit that once I was right?"

"I did. At ICCA's. That's once," Beca shot back with a smirk.

Cheryl and James shared a knowing look as Beca and Jesse began to barb each other about being right and egos, deciding to load up their son's luggage while the couple were sorting things out. It wasn't until they snapped the boot closed that the playful argument came to an end. Their faces fell when they realised Jesse would have to leave now.

Cheryl patted Beca's arm and said, "You are welcome at our home if you want to come and visit during the summer."

"Thanks Cheryl."

"We'll give you two a moment," James said, shaking Beca's hand again before leading his wife to the car.

Beca and Jesse stared at each other, Jesse rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He didn't know whether to kiss her or just hug her, because he knew that each wouldn't be enough. Beca made up his mind for him, reaching forward and grabbing his shirt, tugging him to her. "You aren't leaving without a proper goodbye," she murmured lowly. Their lips crashed together, eyes closed, enjoying the passion and sparks that flew between them. When they released, they were breathing heavily and blushing.

"Can I get goodbye kisses like that _all_ the time?" Jesse asked dazedly.

"If you're lucky," Beca replied, giving him a quick peck. "Dork."

"Your dork," affirmed Jesse. He hugged her tight and stated, "You need me, for anything, just call. Whatever is going on, just don't be afraid to reach out. I'll be there, and I'm not going to ever give up on you."

Beca felt her heart thud heavily in her chest. She was so lucky to be with this sweet, endearing man. "Me either. Call me if you need…whatever."

With one final kiss, they parted. The petite woman watched the car drive away with Jesse waving out the window at her until she was out of sight.

Cheryl, observing this, murmured, "Ah, young love."

* * *

When did the world get so colourless?

Maybe it was the moment Jesse left in his parents car.

Maybe it was leaving her dad with tears in his eyes at the airport, wishing her a safe trip.

Maybe it was the boring surroundings in the taxi ride on the way home.

Or just maybe, the fact that she was back home and the small house was completely and utterly silent. Her mum was still at work, or maybe out with other corporates discussing how to make more money, or with a new boy toy.

"Home, sweet home," Beca grumbled out, hauling her suitcases one by one back to her room. At least they didn't have any stairs in their house, that would have been taxing. She looked around at the sparse furnishings, what little of her was left before going to Barden. The bed with the dark purple quilt, a bookshelf full of books on music and novels that happened to get her rare attention. A few articles of clothing left in her wardrobe and a pair of shoes gathering dust under the bed was all that was left. It was like she had completely moved out.

Deciding to unpack only her mixing equipment, Beca let her thoughts drift to the thought of moving to Atlanta.

Her father was right. She was no longer a pawn in the twisted game between her divorced parents. She didn't have to be controlled by her mother anymore, and now that she knew the truth about why she had to stick with her mother all these years, she could use it as leverage if she needed to.

"At the end of the summer," Beca said to herself. She'd spend another few months here and then leave for good. She knew if she stayed that she'd go crazy. It was hard to realise – coming to terms with it was like trying to catch a bar of soap with wet hands – but she couldn't live with her mother anymore. It was making her a stifled, hard, defensive person.

Her cell phone buzzed on her hip, followed by a ping, signalling a text message. Digging it out, Beca opened up the text and immediately smiled.

Text to: Ear spike girl  
From: Capt. Treble

_Missing you. It's so weird that I miss you already._ _J_

"Aw, nerd," she murmured happily, replying.

Text to: Capt. Weirdo  
From: Beca

_I don't miss you. Not at all._

Text to: Ear spike girl  
From: Capt. Treble

_No?_

Text to: Capt. Weirdo  
From: Beca

_Nope. _

Text to: Ear spike girl  
From: Capt. Treble

_Pity. I'll just have to ransom your favourite Ben and Jerry's until you admit it. ;)_

Text to: Capt. Weirdo  
From: Beca

_Hands off the ice cream buddy. You never mess with my ice cream._

Text to: Ear spike girl  
From: Capt. Treble

_Admit it_.

Beca chuckled, feeling all warm and fuzzy (ick, no, there was no such thing, she reminded herself) inside.

Text to: Capt. Weirdo  
From: Beca

_Okay weirdo, I'll admit, I miss you. Like, the tiniest bit. Smaller than an atom._

Text to: Ear spike girl  
From: Capt. Treble

_Hey, that's good enough for me_. :D_ I'll call you soon._

Text to: Capt. Weirdo  
From: Beca

_Sure._

Chucking her phone onto her bed, Beca grabbed a chair and sat at the desk, opening up her music equipment. She might as well use the time while her mother wasn't home to actually get some great mixes in. She had an idea about mixing Eminem and Adele together and knew it would distract her from the fact she was in this cold, too-perfect looking house, and the inevitability of her mother's force.

* * *

Her mother didn't arrive until 8.30 at night.

Beca was lying on the couch in the living room, reading a book on DJ's of the 90's, when the key rattled in the lock and she came sweeping in.

Vicki Parting was an inch shorter than her daughter, wearing a navy business suit and toting a high quality leather binder. She had the same blue eyes as Beca but darker hair, cut in a sleek bob. She noticed the younger woman immediately and said, "Beca, how many times do I have to tell you, no bare feet on the couch?"

"Gee, nice to see you too mum. I got here okay, thanks for asking. I mean, I haven't seen or heard from you in a year or anything, so I expected at least a 'welcome home.' What's that? How many times do you have to ask? Not sure," Beca replied sarcastically, sitting up and facing Vicki. "I love how you care."

"When you give me _that_ attitude is it any wonder?" Vicki said coldly, moving on towards the kitchen. "Did you cook?"

"Yeah. The spaghetti's on the stove," Beca called in reply, settling back into the plush, expensive couch with a sigh and a scowl. She had made her mother's favourite pasta dish, pasta funghi, to try and get off to a good start for the summer. As usual, it looked like her hopes were too high again. And as usual, her attempts to impress were overlooked.

Atlanta was looking better and better by the second.

Vicki moved to the dining table with her bowl of food, glancing her daughter's way. "Nice to see you made it back home alive. You never replied to the message I sent you a fortnight ago. It's rude," she said.

Beca rolled her eyes. "So is ordering me that I had to drop out of Barden."

"Did you do it?"

"No," Beca bit out.

"It's not negotiable, Beca."

"I'm not an opposing counsel, mother. You can't tell me what's not negotiable. It's my life, my decision," the younger woman argued.

With a long sigh, Vicki abandoned her food and stalked over to stand in front of Beca, tugging the book out of her hands so she had her full attention. "You listen to me good, young lady," she stated, "This is about the good of your future. Law is a more stable occupation than fiddling around with some music. I will not have my daughter go off gallivanting to the west coast to try and make it in an industry that is going to spit her out and make her come crawling back to me. I am going to get you into a program that is going to then get you into Harvard."

Beca glared back at the person who had birthed and raised her, wondering how on earth she had put up with this crap for so long. "I missed the part how you can control me and my choices," she muttered mutinously.

The smile Vicki gave her was anything but sweet. "You'll thank me one day. It's for your own good. Once you get a high paying job, you'll be set up for life. I'll take away your allowance, car and laptop if necessary to give you the required motivation."

'_You're delusional,'_ Beca thought. But she nodded, knowing if she pushed her mother too far, the threats would be carried out – not that she cared about the allowance (she did have money saved up), but she liked her car and loved her music equipment. '_Bide your time, Beca,'_ she reminded herself. The timing had to be right for her to leave.

Seeing her mother walk away, Beca realised that she needed to make a hard decision.

She had to send her music equipment back to Atlanta, to her father. She wasn't going to risk her mother tampering with it while she was stuck in exile here. No way.

* * *

**A/N: I hoped you liked the contrast between Jesse's parents and Beca's mother. It really goes to show how a parent's actions can shape their children. While Beca's mum is a bitch, she has at least provided the necessaries of life to Beca. The explanation of why Beca's mother is the way she is will be revealed in upcoming chapters. **

**Gear up for more drama my lovelies. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourite/followed. If I didn't PM you my thanks for any reviews, I apologise, life got busy. I am now exam free and can devote myself to this story. I look forward to your opinions on this installment, which has an interesting email conversation in it :D Enjoy!

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced, some swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes – Chapter 4 – Plan**

* * *

Day 12 of summer vacation.

And Beca was another argument with her mother away from saying 'fuck it' and packing up and leaving.

She was stubborn though. She was determined to wait out the summer because she wanted just a little more time to come to terms with everything.

What was worse, because she had sent her laptop and all her music equipment to her dad's place in Atlanta to keep it safe, there was little for Beca to keep herself occupied during the days that she wasn't working at the music store at the local mall. She had books, and an old computer that was practically prehistoric (being pre-2003) that she used only to email the Bella's and her dad, and that was pretty much it. She refused to watch TV or any movies. Somehow, watching a movie without Jesse next to her, providing annoying commentary and poking her side to make sure she stayed awake, was wrong. It was weird. It was a break in tradition, and one she hated that she didn't like.

Urgh, when she become so dependent on someone else for her own happiness?

Sighing, Beca stared up at the ceiling, tramping down her impatience. Jesse always called at around 7.30 at night, after dinner. He mentioned something about his parents having a rule of no technology at the dinner table. So she left it up to him to call every night, not wanting to ruin the good impression she had made on his parents.

Besides, she wasn't going to be the clingy girlfriend who called her boyfriend demanding why he didn't call – or the type of girl who went off at her guy when he called more than five minutes late.

Nope. She wasn't that girl.

She really wanted the distraction that Jesse offered though. He was the one shining, easy moment in her day.

_*Don't you forget about me-*_

Beca grabbed the phone and lifted it to her ear, greeting, "Hey weirdo."

"Oops. I think I may have got the wrong number. I was looking for the ear spike hotline?"

Instantly, Beca relaxed, absorbing the joke with a smile. "How many times did you practice that line before you called me?"

"Only twice. Although now I realised it probably sounded better and funnier to myself than to you," Jesse replied, and she could practically hear how wide his grin was over the line. She rolled her eyes. He got excited by the smallest of things, talking to her included.

"Probably."

"Anything new with you?"

"No. Just the same routine of my prison guard being as stubborn as I am," Beca replied, fiddling with a few strands of her hair.

She could hear a rustle over the line, like he was shifting around on his bed. "You didn't go to work today?"

"No. And neither did she."

"Oh."

Beca snorted. "Yeah. 'Oh.'"

He paused, and then put forward tentatively, "Beca, I know you want to tough this out, but-"

"No."

"How did you know what I was going to ask?"

"Because I know you," replied Beca. "You either want me to visit you or move to Atlanta, or you want to come and visit me. I can't let you come here because I don't want you to endure this shit. You shouldn't have to. And as much as the idea is appealing-" Beca would never confess just how much she wanted to go, "I can't visit you just yet. You've been away from your family all year. I think they deserve your time more than I do. I wouldn't want to intrude."

In the silence, Beca felt nervousness creeping in. Did she push him away again without meaning to?

A soft sigh brushed over the line and Jesse's voice assured her, "We'd love to have you around Beca. But if you really don't want to come, that's fine. It's up to you. But I really, really want to come up there."

"Jesse-"

"Hear me out. You said that you don't want me to endure the shit. Well, you shouldn't have to endure it either, at least not alone. Come on, wouldn't I be exceptional in the capacity to help you get away from your mum?" he asked.

Beca chuckled. "You quoted the Breakfast Club in that."

"Bender made a great point."

Beca frowned, twirling her hair around her fingers in thought. She knew if she flat out refused that Jesse would still be unerringly persistent in trying to visit. On the other hand, she had to convince her mother to let Jesse stay. No way was Jesse going to spend money on some stupid hotel if he visited.

The allure of having his support was heavy and wonderful in her chest and she knew, against all the badassery that she portrayed, that she wanted Jesse here.

Not because she missed him. No, because he would keep whining about visiting each other over the summer and she would get sick of it if she didn't nip it in the bud now and let him visit.

"Well, I'm going to have to make sure it's acceptable for you to come here. My mother doesn't like surprises."

"Really? That's a shame. I totally thought she was the type to love surprises," Jesse teased. "I mean, you can tell that your defiance is such a welcome surprise to her."

"Don't change your dream of being movie composer to comedian. I'd have to re-pump your ego after each fail if you did," Beca shot back, deflecting the topic from her mother easily.

On the other end of the phone call, Jesse made a noise of amusement. Beca deflected the topic with all the skill of a ninja and expected him to forget what they were talking about? He'd give it up this time, but when they were face to face – and he vowed they would be. He was going through sarcasm and kissing withdrawals – he was going to help her confront it. "Okay. So…let me know if I get a code green for me to come up to Boston. If I don't, I'm going to kidnap you so you can be tortured by my family with lots of hugs and movies," he said.

"God help me."

"I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too," Jesse cackled.

"What the hell dude?"

"Oh," he mumbled sheepishly, "I forgot we haven't gotten to The Wizard of Oz yet in the moviecation."

"It sounds queerballs," Beca snickered, rolling her eyes at his dorkiness.

"It's a classic!"

"Mmm-hmm, sure. Anyway, I'll let you go. I have to e-mail Chloe."

"Okay, you do that. I'll text you later. Sweet dreams Becs," Jesse murmured warmly.

"Night, weirdo."

Turning the phone off, Beca rolled off her bed and went in search of the block of ice that was her mother. She found her in the office, banging away at her laptop keys typing up a report of some kind. She looked utterly absorbed in her work. Beca huffed quietly – work had become her mother's life since the divorce and it was the part of the reason that she was the way she was. Anxious, highly stung and impatient. Quietly, she knocked on the door. "Hey, mum…"

"Just a sec," Vicki replied, finishing off her paragraph and turning towards her daughter. "Yes, Beca?"

Beca decided to go with the band-aid approach. Rip it off before you can feel it. She would just blurt it out. "So, I have a friend who wants to come and visit me here. You think it'd be okay if they came for a week?"

Vicki's eyes narrowed. "Are we talking about a boy or a girl?"

"Guy. He's my best friend, Jesse." Beca wasn't lying. He _was_ her best friend. She was just going to be omitting the part about their mutual attraction.

Vicki blinked slowly, tapping her fingers on the chair in a staccato rhythm. She hummed in thought. "While your attitude is poor as usual, you have been keeping the household tidy and making dinner every night. I'll make you a deal," she offered slowly.

Beca tensed. She didn't like the sound of this. "What kind of deal?"

"You must come into the law office with me as my assistant for the next two days so you can see what a worthwhile occupation it is. After that, I'll decide if your behaviour at the workplace is good enough. If so, your friend can visit. But _only_ for a week," Vicki said.

Beca schooled her expression not to show her irritation. It was like she was being treated like a dumb, disobedient little girl. She wanted so badly to yell and protest at her treatment but she tampered down the bubbling anger. '_The things I do for that nerd,'_ she thought to herself, gritting her teeth and nodding her agreement to the deal.

Vicki smiled. "You'll like it, you'll see."

She just nodded mutely again and returned to her room. She grumbled, "Not bloody likely."

* * *

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: Shiz n Giggles_

SOS. Need something funny. Was put through torture today. Got anything?

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: Re: Shiz n Giggles_

Sure, anything 4 my captain ;) U havin fun wit ma? W8, no, that's why u emailed right?

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: Don't ask_

Yep.

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: We need ice cream night l8r  
_Attachment: Sexy Ryan Gosling/Alcide/Chris Hemsworth pics

Okay. Here u go.

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: WTF!?_

AMY! I SAID FUNNY, NOT EYE CANDY!

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: Candy….mmm, I want some  
_Attachment: Adorable Duck video

Eh, same same. But cos ur yelling, have a look at this little ducky who can't stay awake.

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: Duck_

Okay, thanks. That is cute, as much as I hate to say it.

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: Boy toy_

Please, everyone knew u were a softie the sec u serenaded that fine piece of USA man steak at ICCA's. Speaking of Jesse, why isn't he with u? Or u with him? C'mon, all that sexy tension has to go somewhere, my advice is on each other.

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: Me and Jesse_

…My sex life, or lack of it, is none of your business (besides, Stacie keeps sending me all these Cosmo articles on the bits and great sex positions, so I'm good on that front -_-). And we happen to live in different states. You know that.

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: Wait, sexual tension?_

Hang on…sexual tension? What do you mean?

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: re: sexual tension_

Oh child, listen 2 Fat Amy. Every1 knew u 2 were eye fucking the shit out of each other at the Riff Off. And whenever I saw u 2 at the quad and arguing with each other, the sex tension was there. I was surprised that u didn't throw him down in the hotel room after ICCA's and had ur wicked way with him.

That's what I would've done ;)))

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: re: re: sexual tension_

We were not eye fucking each other.

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: re: re: re: sexual tension_

Were 2. Burnt myself on that sexual tension. *fans self*

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: Off this topic. Now._

Oh-kay! Moving on. I've had to do 2 days at my mum's stupid law office. I couldn't wear my ear spike and I had to cover all my tattoos. So that meant long sleeves and heavy makeup. In summer! Which is why I kinda needed that little pick me up.

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: This topic_

Why did u do dat again?

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: re: This topic_

You suck at remembering emails. I told you, I did it so Jesse could visit without being thrown out of the house on the first night.

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: Sexytimes ?_

Ah. 'Visit.' Yeah. Is that ur code 4 doin it like animals all over the place? ;D

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: NO!_

No! Do you ever not think about sex?

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: sex_

Only when I'm thinking about food. Or koalas. Or sleep. Or just how fabulous I am. But yep, that's about it.

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: re: sex_

No wonder you and Stacie get on so well. Oh shit, I have to get off the computer, Jaws is here. Email you later.

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: Advice_

…okay, fine, I get it, u went to jail for me once, u won't get in trouble 4 me eva again. Good luck. And make sure u got birth control sorted for Jesse's 'visit.'

_Email to: Amy  
__From: Beca Mitchell  
__RE: re: advice_

Keep going and I'll make sure you never get a solo again.

_Email to: Becanator  
__From: Sexy Fat Ass XXoo  
__RE: Ur such a dom_

Oooh, u can be so mean! Okay. Zip lips. Xxoo.

* * *

Beca switched off the computer just as Vicki entered the study.

"Who were you talking to?" her mother asked suspiciously.

"My friend, Amy. She's in my a capella group at Barden," replied Beca. She looked up, meeting eyes the same colour as her own. "So…did I do well enough over the past few days?" she asked, barely daring to hope she had met her mother's expectations.

Vicki gave her a rare, true smile, "Yes. I'm impressed how you pulled your head in. I told you it wouldn't be so bad."

'_You kidding? It was more torture than listening to One Direction on repeat!' _Beca thought to herself, but shrugged to pass it off. "It was fine. Does this mean Jesse can come and stay?" She winced internally, realising she sounded like a little girl asking for her friend to come for a girly little sleepover.

Vicki looked like she was considering reneging on their deal, but nodded. "Yes, provided he sleeps in the guest room, picks up after himself, and buys his own food. But be warned Beca, put a toe out of line and he's out."

Beca stared at her incredulously. "You would throw out a guest to punish me? Do you realise just how bad you sounded?" she exclaimed.

Vicki inspected her nails with no concern, and replied, "Well, not quite. But if you think we won't be talking about you leaving Barden and staying in Boston while he's here, you're wrong. It gives us all the more reason to talk about it. This is my greatest wish for you, Beca."

Beca just shook her head and stalked out, locking herself in her room before she exploded with the anger she felt. She punched her pillow and threw it across her room before flopping on her bed. Her mother didn't care about her wishes or her dreams and kept trying to pigeon hole her into something she was _not_. She was blind to Beca's ambitions, to her very soul, her core – music; listening to each note play across the spectrum of her senses, every chord resonating in her brain, words streaming through her cognitive pathways.

And deep down, Beca could admit to herself that it hurt that her mother couldn't see who she really was.

Well, at least one thing good had come out of subjecting herself to a law office for the past two days.

Jesse was allowed to come to Boston.

He couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, Jesse is coming to Boston! But will there be friction or smooth sailing? **

**I know I promised more of why Beca's mum is who she is, but I have to wait a few more chapters. **

**As always, reviews are wonderful and appreciated. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourite/followed. If I didn't reply to your review, I apologise, I appreciated it all the same! In this chapter – Jesse arrives in Boston! Enjoy :D

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes – Chapter 5 – State Hopping**

* * *

"You're kind of weird, you know that?"

"Yes, Hallie, you've said that to me a few too many times."

"No, really. Even Casey agrees with me bro. You're going to visit your girlfriend and her apparently psycho mother, all the while hoping to every deity there is that she'll see sense and leave that place although, as you've said, she's stubborn. Ever heard a song about having high hopes?"

Jesse paused in his packing, shoving a few pairs of shorts into his suitcase on top of his jeans, and turned to his little sister. Hallie was 17 years old, with the same brown eyes he had but with long, pure black hair like their mother. She was currently popping gum, looking bored as she watched him fill his travel gear for his flight the next morning to Boston. "Hey, my hopes got me the girl," he pointed out.

"After trying hard, getting rejected twice, moping about it, and then realising she was serious about trying to win you back after singing to you at ICCA's. Yeah, you got the girl alright," Hallie replied.

"And what's this about Casey thinking I'm crazy? He's the guy who wanted to quit college to go after his girlfriend to _Oregon_," Jesse said.

"Where he found out she was two timing him with another woman and came back with his tail in between his legs," Hallie volleyed back easily.

"Okay smartass, what else can I do? Nothing? No, thanks, I'm not a quitter," Jesse argued, turning his back on her, perusing his DVD selection for choices. Maybe it was time to move up to musicals…but the question was if Beca would murder him in his sleep for bringing _only_ musicals to Boston with him. He ran his fingers over the titles and settled on Dreamgirls, Hairspray, and then threw in Rambo and Blue Valentine to balance things out a bit.

"That might not be enough," Hallie quipped.

"You're right," agreed Jesse, oblivious to his sister snickering behind his back as he grabbed i-Robot, 8 Mile, The Hangover, and When Harry Met Sally.

As he was tucking the films safely in his backpack with his laptop, his father James stepped into his room, quietly asking Hallie to step out so he could talk to Jesse in private for a moment. Jesse halted his motions, frowning as he span around to look at his father. "Hey, dad, what's up?"

James sat on Jesse's bed, giving him a small smile. "Just a little talk before you leave," he said gently.

"Okay. What did you want to talk to me about?" Jesse didn't like the sound of this. And his dad had his 'calm and rational' face on, which meant he was serious about something.

Although James was smiling, his eyes were solemn. "I just wanted to talk to you about Beca, and her situation and whatnot. You've told us that she has family problems, which is why she initially pushed you away, but you never really explained them. I just wanted to know if you could tell me more about her. She seems nice, if a bit distant," he explained. He was just concerned, wanting to make sure his son knew what he was doing and in the process learning about the girl who had made Jesse so head over heels.

Jesse shifted, glancing down to the floor. "Well, you know how we met-"

"Yes, by making yourself look like a loony by singing out the car. What I want to know is her family problems. What can you tell me about them?" enunciated James.

Blowing out a breath, Jesse explained, "Before this year, Beca and her dad, Dr. Mitchell who teaches literature at Barden, were estranged since her parents' divorce in her pre-teens. Beca had little contact with him, but enough that he offered her a degree at Barden for free. They weren't on the best of terms until recently."

"Why is that?"

"Something to do with her mother. All Beca told me was that now that she was an adult, her dad could tell her the truth about the divorce and why he _had_ to stay away from her all these years. Now that she knows what really happened, she wants to move from Boston to be with her father in Atlanta," continued the younger Swanson. "From what Beca's told me, her mother is manipulative, controlling, and very strict. The whole reason I'm going there is to support her – her mother wants Beca to drop Barden and stay in Boston and eventually work her way up to law school. Which, you know, is totally stupid because Beca has no interest in the legal field like her mother and will take way too long."

James nodded, absorbing all the information he was given. "Sounds like a difficult situation," he observed.

"Totally. Beca didn't even want me to come because I'd be under her mum's scrutiny too, but I persuaded her in the end," Jesse said.

"Jesse, you have to be careful," James warned him. "Try and stay out of the mother-daughter arguments. If this is going to play out how I think it is, then back Beca up, but don't take on the mother on your own. You don't know what she can do to you."

"So much for a relaxing vacation, huh?" Jesse joked. He moved back towards his suitcase. "I know dad. I learned the hard way to let Beca fight her own battles. Did you know she punched out a guy for me?"

"No…" murmured James, amused.

Jesse laughed. "Yep. I was being a pacifist and all, and this guy was _begging_ me to hit him when Beca just came up and did it to get him to leave me alone. Didn't work out the way it should of," he said, remembering the night outside the police station.

James stood, and clapped his son on the shoulder. "You know, she's not the type of girl I would have picked for you. But it seems that you complement each other. You're different, but not too different." He hugged Jesse, ruffling his hair affectionately, and cautioned once more, "Be careful. If things go pear-shaped, don't hesitate to bring Beca back here. We'd love to have her to see who she really is, and we have more than enough room."

"I hope it doesn't have to come to that," Jesse murmured.

"Me either. But the option is there if it's needed."

Smiling in gratitude at his dad, Jesse went back to his packing with a new determination.

* * *

Jesse stepped into the airport with a grin. He was finally on his way. He checked in and headed towards security. If the movie _Up in the Air_ had taught him anything, it was how to get through security quickly. Follow the Asians or business executives who had purpose and were speedy through the checks.

Once through, he headed for his gate.

A few hours later he was in New York for his transferring flight to Boston. While he was browsing through the souvenir shops in the break between flights, Jesse found something perfect for Beca. A pair of earrings, one the shape of a record and the other a pair of headphones. He bought them, slipped them into a little gift bag and tucked it away in his backpack – he'd get her flowers when he came out of the gate in Boston.

On the flight to Boston, he felt himself getting giddy at the thought of seeing Beca again. He hadn't realised just how long 21 days apart would be. They had been spending so much time together since they had made up that it was odd not to see her every day when the summer began. He wondered if she was going to be wearing her full war paint (as he called her makeup) and just how many of her tattoos were going to be visible. The thoughts of the petite spitfire occupied Jesse for his whole trip and before he knew it, they were touching down in Boston.

First thing he did when he got out of the plane was head for the nearest store that sold flowers. Yes, it was corny, yes, Beca was probably going to death stare him for doing something out of a movie, but the romantic within him demanded that he had to do something sweet like this.

Jesse knew that Beca was going to be waiting outside for him, wanting to avoid most of the crowds and congestion from all the incoming flights. So after collecting his baggage, he headed out, getting blasted on all sides by hot wind and searching for any sign…

Speaking of signs, did that one say '_Moviecation Weirdo'?_

Jesse grinned, hurrying over to the sign bobbing over the heads of people going to and fro. He narrowly missed being taken out by a woman pushing a trolley full of suitcases and finally glimpsed Beca through the crowd.

He felt his heart stutter at the sight of her.

Her hair was free and flowing around her shoulders, her sunglasses acting like a headband in keeping her brunette locks from falling in her face. To Jesse's surprise, her eye makeup was toned down and she looked more natural than usual. She was wearing a grey tank top and black shorts with her usual Chuck Taylors. To him, she was gorgeous.

"BE-CAW! BE-CAW!" Jesse called, unable to resist, laughing as Beca rolled her eyes and smirked at him.

"Hey dork," she replied warmly as he stopped in front of her. She glimpsed the flowers clutched tightly in his hand and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Are those for me?" she asked.

Jesse darted his gaze to the flowers and kept a straight a face as possible when he replied, "Nah, these are for me. I felt like getting in touch with my feminine side."

"Wouldn't surprise me."

"Of course they're for you, weirdo," Jesse chuckled, handing them to her.

Beca accepted the lilies gladly – mostly because she was glad that Jesse hadn't gotten something sappy like roses – and inhaled their scent. "Nice choice," she complimented. She looked up and noticed that Jesse was staring longingly at her lips. She stepped back and threatened, "We are not going to be doing a movie moment. We aren't going to do that whole romantic kiss in front of the airport after being separated thing. Or else I'll make you sleep on the couch."

Jesse pouted and widened his eyes for dramatic effect, doing the puppy dog look that had gotten him his way with people before.

Beca must have been immune for she just snickered and said, "Nice try. Come on, let's go and load you up."

Jesse nodded and wrapped his arm around Beca's waist as they headed towards the car park. "I missed you," he said.

"Me too. How was the flight?" she asked softly.

She leaned back against his arm, getting tingles and shivers all over from the contact. Her heart was pitter-pattering loudly in her chest and there was such a sense of relief that Beca couldn't maintain a surly attitude. When she had seen Jesse she had almost leapt out of her skin in excitement. Finally, there was someone she could talk to in person without wanting to throttle them (much).

"It was good. Aisle seat, no screaming kids, and the flight attendant thought I was cute so she gave me a free can of Coke," winked Jesse.

"Did you tell her your girlfriend has been known to knock out a man or two when threatened?" teased Beca, poking his side.

"And risk having to be charged for a drink? No way."

"Pig."

"You like me."

"You're lucky I do with an ego as big as yours," smirked Beca, leading Jesse towards her car. She popped open the boot as Jesse eyed it in approval.

"Nice little Rav 4. And it's black. So you," he grinned.

"It's awesome. Gets me where I want and I don't look like a kid going for a joyride because of the seat height," shrugged Beca. She instantly regretted mentioning her height as Jesse jibed, "Well, if you weren't so short, people wouldn't suspect you."

Beca glared at him. "You can't do short jokes."

"I'll get a good one, one day, I promise," Jesse vowed dramatically. He bent and fished out the gift bag before he placed his backpack with his suitcase. "I also got you a little something."

"An ear spike?"

"No, open it," Jesse encouraged softly, handing it to her and standing closer so he could watch her reaction closely.

The moment Beca opened the box, her eyes widened and any guardedness that was there dropped. She gasped reverently as she held the earrings up – stunned by the sweet gesture. Jesse knew her so well to get her jewellery that was associated so close to her passion. He also knew her well enough not to get her gold either, but a muted silver. "Jesse," she mumbled, unable to voice anything other than, "They're really cool. Thank you."

She looked up into his bambi eyes (they were that huge and deep brown) and saw him smiling. Beca loved his smile. He was looking at her in utter adoration.

"Put them on," he urged.

She did, taking out the ear spike and stud and replacing them with the new pair. She checked her reflection in her car window and beamed. They looked awesome! A rush of gratitude made her whirl around, grab Jesse's shirt and pin him up against the car door. Beca enjoyed his look of astonishment for a second before pressing her lips hard against his, flinging her arms around his neck. He reacted quickly, one hand on her hip and the other cupping her face as the kiss turned into a languid make out session – one full of promise, tenderness, and restrained passion.

They finally parted when the need for air was too great.

"It's official. I'm going to get you more stuff so I can get more kisses like that. I want more hello kisses and more goodbye kisses," Jesse said, lips redder than normal and tingling. He felt warm all over and he was glad his jeans were suitably restricting so the evidence of his feelings wasn't obvious. There was a quality about a demanding/happy Beca that was just so hot.

"Hmm, who knew that acappella nerds were so good with their mouths," Beca flirted, breathless herself. Jesse was a damn good kisser.

Jesse's eyes darkened at the thoughts of how else he could be good with his mouth. Beca saw this and blushed. "Oh, I didn't mean that," she said quickly.

"Oh yes you did Mo Chuisle," he murmured lowly, smiling as he kissed Beca's jaw line and down to her shoulder where he brushed soft kisses over the rose tattoo there.

Beca's eyes closed as little threads of desire pulsed in her veins. His touch was driving her crazy and if she was uncertain as to how she felt about him at all, it was banished with seeing him and touching him and being treated so wonderfully by him. She couldn't remember the last time someone from outside her immediate family had gotten her a gift. "You're into PDA's aren't you?" she muttered, trying to get her head back on straight.

"Absolutely," Jesse murmured, stepping back and meeting her gaze. "You're going to love it."

Remembering that her mother thought Jesse was a _friend_, Beca felt slightly guilty when she mentioned, "We can't be obvious around my mother. She doesn't know I don't have a boyfriend, and I knew if I told her what you are to me she would have banned you as a distraction."

Jesse's face fell slightly. "So this means we can't suck face in front of her?"

Beca grimaced and she punched his shoulder. "That is such a gross way to describe kissing. But essentially, yes."

Jesse was thoughtful as he replied, "You know what this means, don't you?"

"What?"

"We'll have to go to watch a movie at some point. We'll go right up the back where no one can see and face battle until the movie finishes," he grinned as if he had solved the mystery of all time.

Beca rolled her eyes. "Face battle. Still not an appropriate substitute for kissing. You got that off Facebook."

"I plead the fifth."

"Just get in the car, dork."

Jesse saluted and cried, "Yes ma'am!"

As she started the car, her stereo began to blast 'No Diggity.' Beca and Jesse shared an amused look, and they began to sing together in perfect harmony as Beca drove them away from the airport.

"Shorty get down, good Lord  
Baby got 'em up open all over town  
Strictly biz, she don't play around  
Cover much ground, got game by the pound  
Getting paid is a forte  
Each and every day, true player way  
I can't get her out of my mind (what)  
I think about the girl all the time."

* * *

**A/N: The fluff is strong with this one ;)**

**If anyone is confused about the whole 'Mo Chuisle' thing, it comes from the film Million Dollar Baby. If Jesse called Beca 'Million Dollar Baby', I'm sure he'd call her 'Mo Chuisle' (which is pronounced macooshla) and means 'my darling/blood/pulse' in Irish. Reviews are always wonderful and appreciated. I hope that the flirting and romance was pulled off right.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourite/followed. This chapter is a change of pace after the fluff of last chapter. Still, I hope it's enjoyable, or at least interesting.

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced and swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes – Chapter 6 – House, not a Home**

* * *

"This is cool."

"Stop lying, you're shit at it."

They were standing in the living room of Beca's house, and Jesse was looking around in fascination. He had, of course, said that the house was nice to be polite – and the house was immaculate and tastefully furnished – but Beca was right. He was lying. Because it felt like he was in some show home. Things were very sterile and monochromatic. The thing that was glaringly obvious was the lack of personal keepsakes. No photos, no little mementos of vacation, no dog eared magazines or books on the coffee table. Nothing. No personality at all.

"I was trying to be nice," Jesse said.

"I know. But I could see it in your face," Beca replied, turning away so Jesse couldn't see how embarrassed she was. Of course her house wouldn't meet standards.

Jesse realised the direction Beca's thoughts went and reassured, "It's a lovely place, it is. It's just…well, I can't see any of _Beca_ in here."

Oh. Beca got what Jesse really meant now. She beckoned him to follow, and they went down the hallway to Beca's room. As she flung the door open, she asked, "See a little more of me now?"

Jesse grinned. "Yep. Slightly messy, a framed record and music posters on the wall. I think I found you," he winked.

"Well if you loved the living room, you're gonna just _love_ the guest room," Beca said flatly, opening the door opposite to her own. The guest room was half the size of hers and housed a single dresser and a single bed. Everything was stark white except for the beige carpet.

"Wow. It'll be weird to be the most colourful thing in my environment," he remarked as he entered the room.

"Don't tell me – your room looks like a rainbow vomited on your walls?" Beca asked with a smirk.

"Not quite," replied Jesse, "I have a lot of posters everywhere."

Beca shook her head in amusement. "Your parents are enablers. Do you have a TV in your room as well?"

"No. Mum and dad wouldn't let me, saying that I was in my man cave enough with my laptop, they wouldn't see me for months if I had an actual TV in my room," Jesse admitted bashfully. Beca just snickered, finding it so very Jesse for that to happen. She helped him heft his suitcase on the bed and began to help him to unpack, asking, "So, what's the plan?"

"What plan are you talking about? You need to be specific," replied Jesse cheekily.

"As in the plan of what you want to see while you're here _nerd_," Beca enunciated.

With a mock gasp of outrage, Jesse exclaimed, "And leave this palace for fresh air? Why, perish the thought."

She threw a pair of his shorts at him in annoyance, which only served to make him laugh. "Be serious," she said.

Jesse shrugged. "I don't really have a plan. Wherever you want to take me, I'll go. I seriously just want you to take the lead," he replied.

With a devious smirk, Beca asked nonchalantly, "So if I wanted to take you to a male strip show, you'd go?"

"If only to shield your young and innocent eyes from things they shouldn't see. And to make sure you don't punch out anyone," Jesse said.

Beca couldn't tell if he was serious and asked, "Would you really?"

He winced and answered, "Well, I would hate it. But if you really, honestly wanted to go, I'd go with you. If not for any reason than to see your expressions when guys try to striptease."

Beca couldn't decide if that was just plan adorable or freakishly weird that Jesse would do that for her, so as she pointed out the door to the closet, she murmured, "You won't get to see my expressions then, because that's definitely not an item on the list of places I'd pick. I was thinking more along the lines of the Science Museum and spending a day in the city just walking around and I can show you the cool places I've found."

"Awesome," replied Jesse contentedly. As he placed the last of his things away, he reached for his backpack and sing-songed, "Guess what I brought?"

As Beca saw the shape of his laptop coming out of the bag, she groaned in irritation. "Moviecation? Still?"

"I am not going to let up and let you go back to your movie hating ways. Did you honestly think I'd go anywhere longer than two days without a movie in some way?"

If Beca was honest with herself, the answer would be no. Jesse wouldn't be Jesse without his movies. He was a walking movie dictionary. Like that website, IMDb.

They were pulled from their light-hearted conversation when the front door opened and closed, Beca's mother calling loud enough to be heard around the house, "Beca and Beca's friend! Please come out here!"

"Oh God," grumbled the petite brunette.

"It'll be fine," Jesse said confidently, quickly rummaging around in his backpack and snatching something out of it Beca couldn't see as he exited the room in front of her. She wished he had his unassuming confidence as she followed, feeling her good mood seep out of her. She saw her mum, looking more imposing as ever in the foyer ahead – hair pulled tightly back in a severe bun, sky high leather stilettos and a crisp grey skirt suit. She looked like she came out of a Vogue business edition. Beca glanced at her own casual outfit and grimaced. Could their differences be any more noticeable than in this moment?

And then there was Jesse, moving towards her, lending his hand out for a handshake. "Hello there, I'm Jesse Swanson," he introduced himself.

Vicki Parting's eyes flashed with surprise for the briefest of moments before she gingerly took his hand, giving it a firm shake. "Hello Jesse, my name is Vicki. You may call me this until you have revoked your privilege to," she replied coolly.

Jesse's friendly smile, miraculously, didn't dim as he said, "Okay, that's cool. I hope I don't revoke this privilege by giving you a little gift of appreciation for letting me stay in this beautiful house." He brought his other hand up, a small clear box on display filled with something pink and white. "I wasn't sure if chocolates were your thing, so I thought Turkish delight would do the trick."

Beca had to bite her tongue to keep from snorting or laughing. Jesse was laying it on thick and it seemed to work as her mother took the sweets from him.

"Unnecessary, but thoughtful." She looked him over appraisingly. "No visible piercings or tattoos, polite, poor fashion taste but overall, you're not what I expected…you'll do," Vicki concluded. Her sharp eyes flashed to Beca and she demanded, "Have you told him the rules?"

"Not yet, we only got back about half an hour ago."

"Tell him now," Vicki said. Jesse felt the blistering heat of her glare pass between him and Beca and was amazed that this was Vicki thinking that he 'would do.' He didn't want to think how she would have acted if he didn't pass her requirements.

Beca rolled her eyes, thinking that this was the stupidest thing she had to say, and recited, "You are to buy your own food and label it. You are to clean up after yourself. And we are to inform her if we go out past 7pm on any night. If we are in the same room together, the door must be halfway open. The door mustn't be closed. If we are in breach of any rules or common notions of propriety, you will not be allowed to stay." She glared at Vicki and growled, "Happy?"

"Extremely," her mother replied sarcastically, turned around dramatically and made her way to her bedroom on the other side of the lounge room.

"Well, shit," Jesse muttered after a minute at staring at Vicki's closed door.

"Yeah."

* * *

Vicki was different to how Jesse thought she would be. Sure, he knew that it wasn't going to be sunshine and roses, but this was something else. He had been treated by strangers kinder than Vicki treated Beca. There was just so much disdain in her tone and posture, it was like she couldn't stand seeing Beca (or himself for that matter) in her actual sight.

He simply couldn't fathom it.

Jesse knew it was because his mother and Beca's were total opposites. He knew his mother loved him. It was obvious. She was warm, giving, and downright scary when mad, but not distant, calculating and so unyielding like Vicki. It was like she was a robot.

Another thing he couldn't understand was where Beca had come from. Her father David Mitchell was so softly spoken that even when mad his voice didn't raise above a certain level. He was calm and collected while Vicki was cold. Did Beca's sarcasm and weird way of showing affection (which he loved) stem from a defence to her mother's harsh personality? It would make a lot of sense. One thing was for sure, he only had a week here to try and make Beca's summer brighter if she decided not to move.

"What are you doing?"

Beca's voice shook Jesse from his thoughts. "I'm thinking," he replied.

"By hanging your head upside-down over the bed," Beca said skeptically.

"Oh yeah, really gets the blood flowing," Jesse countered as he righted himself, giving her a tiny grin. "What's up?"

"Well, mum's just left – she's going into the city for tapas with some other lawyers, so it's just us in the house tonight," she announced.

"Awesome!"

"Don't get too excited," Beca warned, coming into the room and mentioning over to the bedside table. "You see that lamp?"

"What about it?" asked Jesse confusedly.

A mirthless smirk appeared on Beca's face. "Don't act surprised but be natural when I tell you – it's not just a lamp. There's a camera in the base of it," she revealed.

Jesse's face fell and his jaw dropped. "A camera…"

"A precaution while she's out to make sure we don't do anything suspicious. It only records video, not sound – I tested it by screaming swear words while I was tidying up yesterday. She usually chews me out for using such filthy language but she didn't mention it," the petite woman explained.

"But…but, isn't that illegal? I'm going to get changed in here, she'll see me almost naked!" Jesse whispered, tripping over his words in his shock.

Beca shook her head. "It's not illegal if you put a hidden cam in your own home for safety precautions. And my mother, being a lawyer, would know all the ins and outs of the legality and the defences and excuses and such. She'd probably say she did it to make sure she wasn't harbouring a drug user or something like that. So good luck with protesting its existence," she murmured angrily.

Jesse frowned and asked, "I guess I'll just change in the bathroom…but where are other cameras and how did you figure it out?"

Beca sat next to him, unable to look at him. "Mum told me she was going to always be watching. I didn't get what she meant until a few days ago she got some electrician in here. There's a camera in the kitchen that looks over the dining and lounge as well." Her voice wavered as she spat, "She's so fucking spiteful it's ridiculous."

"Misery loves company," he observed astutely.

"I don't even know why I try anymore," Beca whispered in a voice almost quieter than Lily.

Jesse was about to wrap his arms around her and then remembered the fact that Big Brother (or Mother in this case) was watching. Hiding his frustration at not being able to comfort this hurt, Jesse just patted Beca's shoulder in what he hoped was a platonic way. "You try because you're the better person, Bec. Because even though she's difficult, Vicki is still your mum and you love her. You may not like her, but you love her," he said.

Beca huffed. But Jesse knew that he had guessed how she had felt correctly. "Come on," he invited quietly, "Let's go and get something to eat and watch a movie."

"Should I order some pizza? There's a place four blocks away that delivers and it's awesome," Beca suggested.

"What better than pizza and When Harry Met Sally on a Monday night?" Jesse asked, nudging her shoulder before he stood, leaving the room.

Beca sighed and hung her head. "Being able to show affection to your boyfriend," she answered quietly.

For once, the distraction of watching a movie sounded like a great idea.

* * *

Beca was getting ready for bed when she saw her phone screen lighting up. She tilted her head in confusion. Who would be messaging her this late? She and Jesse had just finished watching When Harry met Sally (which was rather entertaining, especially the 'faked orgasm in public' scene). She grabbed it and unlocked the screen.

She must have accidentally turned her phone on silent because she had six messages waiting for her.

Jesse had been the one to message her then so she opened his first.

Text to: Ear spike girl  
From: Capt. Treble  
_Good night. Consider this my make up kiss for the ones I would have given you if we weren't watched. Xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxx ;D_

Beca smiled. She was glad she had a boyfriend who knew how to make her smile. She poked her head out the door and called, "Good night to you too, weirdo!"

Jesse laughter reverberated out from the guest room as she turned away, seeing messages from some of her friends. Beca's expression morphed into one of disbelieving amusement as she read the variety of responses from the Bellas.

Text to: Beca  
From: Aubrey  
_Hope you're having fun. Remember to take Jesse to museums. I've found in my dating experience that it shows off how cultured you are._

Text to: Beca Bestie!  
From: Chloe  
_OMG, it's soooo adorable that Jesse is staying with you for a week. I bet you you're going to do those really cute couple-y things you swore you'd never do. Eeeeee! I'm so excited for you babe! Oh, and just a tip, maybe you two should re-enact how __**we**__ met. ;) Oh! And when you two are done, you should come visit me in New York! I'd be all too happy to have you! I'll give you an education in girly sleepovers :D. Call me soon babe, I want all the dirt on you and Jesse. Toodles!_

Text to: My leader  
From: Lily  
_Boys don't like it when you put snails down their pants. Hope you are well. Got new tunes for me? Dad doesn't like me lighting fires when I'm bored._

Text to: Needs to get laid  
From: Sexypot Stacie ;)  
_Tell me what he's like in bed. And if he's big…but that doesn't always mean anything if they don't know how to use it. Remember to stay safe with protection ;) Oh, and check your e-mail. I sent you some BJ tips off the Cosmo site._

Text to: Shawshank Becanator  
From: Sexy Fat Ass xoxo  
_I kno Stacie probs said it but have fun doin it like horny Tassie Devils XD! Call me so we can have a chat soon._

Beca chuckled and muttered to herself, "I am friends with some of the weirdest people around." A warm glow of happiness washed over her as she re-read their texts. At the same time, a part of her was heavy with the knowledge that these girls (and Jesse) were her true family. Oddballs, weirdos, freaks, but they loved each other more than her mother loved her. They were loyal to her. They believed in her. With those sobering and conflicting emotions, she fell asleep, dreaming of breaking free of her chains.

* * *

**A/N: I couldn't resist throwing that in at the end. I know it's probably made the chapter a bit disjointed, but I needed some humour and Bellas. How did you like it? Is Vicki still realistic in the situation? What about Jesse and Beca having to control themselves? Reviews are very much appreciated. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourite/followed. Be prepared for a **LONG **chapter. That's why it's taken _so_ long to update.

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced and swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes – Chapter 7 – A day out**

* * *

Jesse was woken up by something soft and fluffy being thrown at his head. He grunted and shifted, muttering, "Five more minutes ma…"

"Get up weirdo," came a darkly amused voice.

Jesse's eyes fluttered open, remembering that he was in Boston at Beca's house with the she-devil Vicki. He stretched and flung the sheet off the bed. He saw the soft and fluffy thing that had oh so evilly woke him up. "A puppy toy? That is cute," he said, picking it up and grinning at Beca. His eyes widened as he saw she hadn't gotten changed out of her sleeping clothes. She wore the most adorable pair of black shorts with purple skulls that showed off the creamy skin of her legs. And her top was nothing more than a singlet with a matching purple skull. It was obvious she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Uh, Jesse, my eyes are up here," Beca snickered. She hadn't thought her pyjamas would turn Jesse on. It was flattering, to say the least.

"I know," he replied shyly, shaking his head to clear his thoughts and meeting her eyes. "Any reason why you're waking me up? I was having a _wonderful_ dream about bacon and swimming through a maple syrup lake to reach a floating pancake island."

Beca laughed, "Only a nerd like you would dream about that."

"Like I said, it was a cool dream. And you still haven't explained why you woke me up."

"We're going out. Mum's already left for her day and I've told her we're going to be staying out past 7 tonight for dinner and whatever. So the day is ours," she informed him. She turned and said, "If you're not ready in 10 minutes I'm leaving without you. Because the place we're going for breakfast just happens to have the most amazing boysenberry pancakes ever."

"Pancakes," Jesse moaned in anticipation, licking his lips and bolting out of bed. He got changed (not caring if the camera was watching, Vicki could see him in his Star Wars boxers all she wanted) and was completely ready in eight minutes, standing by the front door and pretending to tut impatiently at Beca as she gathered up her keys and phone, slipping her bag over her head. "Come on…my pancakes are waiting for me," he whined.

"You know, I'm going to give you that bacon alarm clock thingy you showed me on Facebook that time on the meme page. Just because, you know, you love bacon so much," Beca muttered, rolling her eyes as they left the house, locking it up securely and hopping into the car.

Jesse's eyes widened with excitement. "Would you really?"

"I know you'd get a kick out of it," Beca replied.

"I love bacon…I'm such a bad Jew," he murmured dreamily.

Beca just snorted and back the car out of the driveway. Jesse could be such a kid at times.

They arrived at _Commune_ in ten minutes, finding it fairly busy. It was just past 8.30am, which meant people trying to get their coffees before work, friends meeting up for a leisurely breakfast and chat. They parked and went towards the door. Jesse followed Beca, who strode confidently through the door and up to the counter. "Hey, Jordan!" she called.

A bespectacled guy about their age appeared at the counter. "Yo, Beca! How are ya girl?" he asked.

"Good. My usual, and can you add a latte in a tall glass to an order of the boysenberry pancakes? Add bacon to it please," Beca rattled off before Jesse could even comprehend that Beca was ordering for him.

Jordan smiled at her. "Sure thing. Pay later, I think your friend is a little confused," he said, winking at them both, handing them a table number before heading off to the coffee machine.

Beca grabbed Jesse's hand (taking a second to revel in the little tingle as she finally made some skin to skin contact with him) and dragged him to her favourite booth, right in the back corner below some vanilla and lavender scented candles. She shoved him into the booth and sat opposite him. Jesse was bewildered by her forwardness and said, "Not that I don't like you manhandling me, but, er, what was that about?"

"Jordan's a nosy bastard. If we had started an argument about who was going to pay – and don't lie, you know you would have totally offered to pay for me – he would have tried to find out all he could about you," Beca replied, settling back and relaxing.

"And that's a problem because?"

"It's not…it's just I want to have breakfast before introducing you to anyone. My stomach's demand is higher than Jordan's gossip gathering right now," she explained, reaching over the table and grabbing his hand, clasping it tight. Jesse squeezed back, his expression effusing with warmth for her .

"So, Jordan's a friend?" he prodded, trying to get some info from his notoriously closed off girlfriend.

"From high school. We became friends when we first moved here when I was in the tenth grade," said Beca.

Jesse snapped his fingers in realisation. "So that's why you don't have that movie style 'Boston' accent. You only moved here around four years ago," he said, some more pieces of the puzzle clicking into place.

"Yeah. Anyway, we met when I some jocks were picking on him and I basically told them to scram or else I'd claw their eyes out for ganging up on Jordan. Here I was, this new girl, and I was telling them to piss off. And they did it. Jordan and I have been friends ever since. He's one of the few friends I still have and who understands me – the only one I really keep in contact with too. Not only have his parents divorced, but his dad hates him because he's gay," Beca told Jesse in a low whisper so other people couldn't hear.

He shook his head. "That's sad when people can't be accepting."

"But I did for him, and he did for me. So that's why we're friends," concluded Beca just as Jordan made his way over to bring their coffees.

"A long black with hot milk for you Beca and a latte for you…" Jordan trailed off, looking pointedly at Beca.

She just rolled her eyes and waved her hand between the two. "Jordan, Jesse, Jesse, Jordan. Jesse goes to Barden with me and just happens to be…my friend who happens to be more than a friend." She cleared her throat awkwardly as the two men stared at her. She reddened, embarrassed – as much as she may call Jesse her boyfriend to herself, she still felt uncomfortable saying it aloud most times.

"I'm her boyfriend. Nice to meet you Jordan," Jesse broke the silence with a friendly smile and holding out his hand for a handshake.

Jordan grinned. "That's awesome. Beca has a boyfriend. This is fantastic!" he giggled, shaking Jesse's hand and slapping him on the back. "I never thought this day would come! A guy who's willing to go through the agony of breaking down her walls. Good luck."

As Jordan went back to the counter, Jesse stared at a flushed Beca in confusion. "Okay…what was that about?"

Beca mumbled something too low for him to hear, so he reached over and placed his finger underneath her chin, tilting her head up so their eyes met. "I didn't hear you."

"My nickname in high school was Everest. Go on, guess why," she muttered.

"Uh…hard to climb?" Jesse wondered cluelessly.

"As in, you're insane to think of going near it, and if you even tried to climb it, it'd break you. I was called Everest because whenever someone wanted to date me, they'd never succeed. I always turned them down flat and when some guys didn't get the memo I wasn't interested, I either keyed their car or filled their lockers with pink silly string." Beca raised her eyebrows in surprise as Jesse began to laugh. "What?"

"That is brilliant," he chortled. "No, really, that's great. It only highlights the fact that I'm lucky. I'm the only one you've ever dedicated an a capella set to!"

Beca reached over and lightly smacked his arm. "Don't go around boasting it. Jordan will never let me live it down. He'll probably call me tomorrow and try and have our three monthly catch up centred mostly on you."

Jesse waggled his eyebrows. "I'd be flattered if he did."

Beca's retort was halted by the arrival of the food. Jesse's eyed widened to Alvin the chipmunk proportions as he took in the three high stack of thick boysenberry pancakes drowning in syrup accompanied by a few rashers of bacon. "Oh yum. How delicious you are, my sweet," he crooned to the plate, knowing that Beca was probably rolling her eyes at him for making a big deal about the food. He looked at her plate to find out what a Beca special was. It was scrambled eggs, a sausage, a hash brown and avocado buttered toast. Interesting. He had her picked as a croissant girl. It gave him a thrill that Beca managed to surprise him at every turn.

They tucked into the food – with Jesse moaning in delight every now and then as he ate his pancakes. After they were done, Jordan came to the table and chatted to them before taking their empty plates away.

"Ready?" asked Beca after they paid their bill.

"Hell yeah!" Jesse crowed when they exited _Commune._ "Did you know that the Boston Science museum has the only domed IMAX theatre in New England?"

"No, I didn't, and no, we aren't going to watch a movie in it. We are going to see exhibits," Beca said sharply, relenting afterward at Jesse's pout. "Look nerd, I actually like looking at the science-y stuff. Can we spend a day just mucking around and we'll watch another movie when we get back tonight?"

He pretended to look like he was deliberating thoughtfully over the choice before nodding slowly. "Well, since you make such a logical point," he murmured in a posh voice. "We'll go with your plan."

"Oh stop it, you," Beca snickered.

Just before they reached Beca's car, Jesse reached out and span her around, gently connecting their lips in a kiss. "I've wanted to do that since last night on the couch," he murmured huskily.

Beca wrinkled her nose and replied, "While that's nice, I've got egg breath."

"I don't care," Jesse said, pressing back into her lips, tracing his tongue along the seam of her lips until she relented and allowed him entrance. He gently probed the warm heat of her mouth, teasing her tongue and making her laugh into their liplock. He enjoyed kissing Beca for the simple fact that she just eased into his arms. He hugged her as he broke away, fluttering kisses over her cheeks.

"Jesse…" whined Beca, flushing and writhing in his hold. His light kisses tickled.

"What?"

"We have to get going," she muttered weakly, temptation staring at her in the form of dark liquid eyes burning into hers.

Jesse sagged a little but nodded. "Okay. Lead the way _mon capitan_."

* * *

There was different ways to view beauty, Jesse mused. There was a fierce, angry beauty, for example the way Beca had lashed out to defend him last year at the regionals. Or the way she was so resolute and strong. There was an alive, excitable beauty, like when Beca was enthusiastic about music or when she was performing and singing. And then, there was a quiet, serene beauty about her too. Like when she would relax out in the quad at Barden and just do her mixes.

He would have to slot the sight he was gazing at into both the alive and serene categories.

They were at the Science Museum's blue wing – specifically the butterfly garden. Beca was standing about four feet in front of him, butterflies fluttering around her while she looked around with a peaceful smile gracing her delicate features. Jesse could see it in her eyes that she was happy and content. He whipped out his phone and snapped a few pictures of Beca, knowing he'd make one his background picture. Beca was oblivious, her hands dancing in the air as she attempted to touch the butterflies. A few landed on her hands for a second and it was with those feather light touches her smile widened.

Jesse could only grin at her. She was gorgeous when she was cheerful.

"Swanson…the staring is getting creepy," Beca said quietly, amused.

He just shrugged. Only Beca could break the image with something quintessentially _her_. "I was just admiring the view."

Beca threw a raised eyebrow his way and they continued through, Jesse casually slinging an arm around her shoulders. It was comfortable. They exited the garden and went on to more excitable exhibits. They went and saw the giant Van de Graff machine in the Theatre of Electricity, both of them reeling back, thrilled by the show, as the electric light arced from the main machine to the cage where the demonstrator was standing. They let their worries slip into the background and were as carefree as kids as they went through the optical illusions, natural mysteries, and the Investigate! Exhibit. Jesse would occasionally pull weird faces and play around with the displays, just to make Beca roll her eyes at him and smile. Beca in return would hold his hand or make sarcastic comments about the exhibits or people in the crowd around them.

They finished with the blue wing and went through to the red wing to the Discovery Centre – although Jesse managed to quickly duck into the IMAX just to geek out over it.

They grabbed muffins for a snack from the museum cafe before travelling to the Soundstair and running up and down the musical staircase with Jesse singing nonsensical words with each step he took. Beca couldn't help but laugh. His enthusiasm was infectious and didn't irritate her at all. She was so glad she had chosen to come here – she hadn't felt this happy since ICCA's.

In the Planetarium, Jesse took the chance while the general public were ooh-ing and ah-ing at the constellations to press Beca into a secluded corner and kiss her like he had been wanting to. Time faded away in that dark corner as they stood, lips joined, teasing, giggling as they made out. Beca's hands grasped at Jesse's shoulders to anchor herself because her world was spinning as he kissed her desperately. She was lost in him, in his hands sliding from her waist to cup her neck and then back again. He was so warm and smelled so good she almost forgot the fact the place was in public. Jesse was similarly affected, knowing his heart was going double time as he got drunk off their kisses.

It wasn't until an elderly woman cleared her throat loudly that they broke apart. Beca flattened Jesse's mussed up hair from where she had run her fingers through it and sniggered when he blushed. They left the museum to grab pastrami Panini at a nearby bakery and wandered into North Point Park next to the river near the museum.

"This is a pretty place," Jesse remarked as they reclined on the springy grass.

"It's one of my favourite parks," said Beca, tearing a hunk out of her sandwich with relish.

Joggers ran past and families with kids gambolled everywhere, a scene out of a movie. Jesse sighed happily. It was such a great day. After their sandwiches had been devoured, he asked Beca, "It's almost 2.30…what else is on the agenda?"

"I'm going to introduce you to one of the only other people you could call a friend of mine. Her name's Wanda. The only reason she's kinda a friend is because I visited her shop so often," she replied.

"Her shop?"

"She owns a vintage music shop about ten minutes away. I found it by accident and I've visited it ever since."

Jesse's curiosity was piqued. "What's she like?"

Beca stared up at the clouds in thought. "Generous. If she likes you, you'll know. She'll make you a pot of tea and invite you to sit and chat. If she doesn't like anyone, whenever they ask the price on something, she'll give them a ridiculous figure so they don't come back anytime soon," she murmured. She wondered if Wanda had anything from The Breakfast Club soundtrack or any Simple Minds merchandise. She was sure Jesse would get a kick out of it, although she would never, ever, not even on her deathbed, admit that she found it adorable when Jesse had his little geek outs over things.

The pair were content to laze around on the grass for another hour, occasionally chatting about random things, or Jesse humming to whatever song was in his head.

It was four that afternoon when they arrived at Wanda's vintage shop. It was about 13 by 24 feet and crammed full of music related items. Along the left side were a wide variety of CD's and tapes and on the right wall was full of shelves bulging with records. In between were random CD's, tapes and records scattered on the narrow tables in between signed pictures of famous musicians and other merchandise. Jesse's eyes widened as he took it all in. "This is _so_ cool!" he whispered excitedly.

"I know," Beca said quietly, moving forward and running her hands over the record wall, loving the calming feeling of the cardboard along her fingertips. She wished she could just soak up all this history in this way.

"I recognise that voice!" a husky voice floated from the back of the shop behind a black curtain. "Beca Mitchell, that you girl?"

"Yeah Wanda, it's me." Beca nudged Jesse and went to the back as Wanda came out behind the curtain. By Jesse halting in his steps, she could tell Wanda wasn't what he expected.

She was an older woman approaching her 60's, with steel grey hair falling around her head in micro braids, contrasting with her inky black skin. She was blind in one eye, while the other was a dark hazel. One could immediately tell that despite her diminutive size that Wanda was a tough one. She wore Doc Martens and jeans with a floaty jade green top.

"It's about damn time you came around again. I can understand because of college, but it wasn't the same having my helper around in the past year," Wanda chided, but her countenance was friendly.

"I missed you too Wanda," Beca grinned, moving forward and hugging the shorter woman quickly.

Wanda's observant eyes caught sight of Jesse standing awkwardly behind Beca. "I see you've hauled someone in with you."

"This is Jesse," Beca introduced, indicating their more than friend status by twining their fingers together.

Jesse stuck his hand forward and smiled. "Pleasure to meet you, Wanda. Beca said this place was amazing and she wasn't wrong."

Wanda's good eye flicked over him. "Tall, strong, handsome. They need to make more men like you suitable for women my age," she winked, smiling back at him. "Come on, I'll make you some tea."

They spent over an hour just chatting with Wanda, with both of them asking her questions about the records and CD's she had. Jesse had gone into full on movie nerd mode when he had found a record of the ET soundtrack wedged underneath the Beatles. He had rapidly fired off so many facts about the score that Wanda and Beca couldn't follow. Eventually, Wanda told him to stop and just keep the record, because no one had ever shown such interest in it and she was going to mark it down for clearance anyway. Jesse was gobsmacked at the thought she would give it to him for free.

While Jesse was profusely thanking Wanda, Beca was peeking at items strewn along the tables, admiring the chains with band badges, the silly things like a Metallica toaster (that was weird) or a set of four tumblers dedicated to Kate Bush. She did feel let down by the fact that there was no Breakfast Club stuff for them.

"What are you doing?"

Jesse's befuddled voice brought Beca out of her thoughts and she glanced back to see that Wanda had Jesse's tea cup in her hands, staring into it intently.

"I'm reading your tea leaves. It's my little hobby on the side," Wanda replied calmly, ignoring Jesse's incredulous staring.

"Relax weirdo, she did it to me too. It means Wanda _really_ likes you," Beca reassured, weaving her way through the shop and back to them. Wanda was holding the tea cup in the correct position, with the handle pointed towards Jesse opposite her.

"This is fascinating," Wanda murmured.

Beca and Jesse just waited to see what she would say next. Beca was at ease while Jesse was leaning forward in anticipation.

Her hazel eye flickered between the young couple and she smiled. "What jumped out to me most was the guitar. It usually signifies that you are finding happiness in love," she murmured. Jesse rubbed the back of his head shyly and nodded. "But there are five other symbols. You have a vase close to the guitar which signifies you have a friend in need. There is a hand pointing from these two symbols to the hollyhock, which means that this person will never disappoint you. Lastly, the oak tree means you will have a long, happy life. You also have the birdcage, which usually indicates that you will have obstacles or that you will have a quarrel with someone."

"Wow. That's a lot to take in," Jesse said softly. His forehead creased in a frowned and asked, "While this is really cool and all, but just how accurate have you been?"

Wanda smirked knowingly. "All but ten of the 112 fortunes I've told have been mostly true. Although I am about to re-read Beca's. Last time she was here I read from the leaves she was going to partake of an adventure and that she was going to fight obstacles, but ultimately, the time ahead of her would be worth it in the end. I was glad that the arch symbol came true," she replied.

"The arch?"

"It means I was about to meet my ideal man," grumbled Beca lowly beside Jesse, making he and Wanda laugh.

"I told you we were inevit-"

"Yeah, yeah, okay nerd, you had your turn, now mine," she said, shoving Jesse so she was in front of Wanda and drunk the rest of the tea and handed her cup to Wanda. Wanda prepared the cup by swirling it and then peering into it.

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Give me a moment," said Wanda patiently, scrutinising the cup. "I have the symbol of the cup, which means that you must pay attention to this reading…and also that you have good fortune in the area of love," she began pleasantly, but then she frowned. "You only have two positive symbols. That, and the car, which means you could be embarking on a new lifestyle. The other symbols could be neutral or troubling." After humming over the symbols for another minute, Wanda went on, "The butterfly and the axe close together are very telling. The axe means you are going to free yourself of burdens, while the butterfly has a similar meaning. You also have the dinosaur again, stubbornness. Then there is the goat, telling you that you must take action with bravery and judgement in order to reach your goals. Lastly, the gun and the knife are close together, possibly indicating that you are holding some kind of anger or resentment which will lead to arguments and harsh words."

"Huh," said Beca.

Wanda looked troubled. "Anything happening I should be aware of Beca? Your cup was disconcerting last time too."

Beca looked down at her hands, fiddling with the strap of her bags. "I don't think I'll be coming back to Boston after this summer Wanda. I'd had enough," she admitted quietly.

The older woman understood and she nodded. "Very well. I will miss you coming in and visiting me if this is true," she said.

"Thanks Wanda," Beca said genuinely. Wanda and Jordan were all she knew before Barden, and not being able to see them had been hard. Jesse saw she was struggling with her emotions and reached out to take her hand, which she appreciated. After they had another browse of the store's wares, Beca and Jesse farewelled Wanda and headed into the city. Before dinner, they chose to walk around and look at various shops, Beca showing places she had discovered when she had wagged school because she was bored. They talked about the culture and the lifestyle in the city, and Beca admitted that she could never picture staying in Boston anyway, even if her relationship with her mother was less strained.

"Why's that?" Jesse asked.

Beca shrugged. "I don't know. It's instinctual I guess. Boston is a cool place, but I know I'll never settle here. It's never felt like home to me," she confessed.

"I can't imagine that," murmured Jesse. This visit had been a real eye opener into Beca herself.

"What, the feeling of not feeling like home?"

"Well, yeah!" he exclaimed. "I mean, my home in Raleigh has always been home to me. I've never felt a pressing need to get out. Barden became home to me too. I guess I've always been _home_ where I've felt comfortable and needed and happy."

"That's deep," teased Beca, feeling a little jealous of Jesse. She hadn't felt like that until she had met him or the Bellas. Not since she was a little girl in New York with her parents.

Jesse detected she needed a little comforting and pressed a quick kiss to her temple. They wandered around for a little longer before Beca decided it was time for them to have dinner.

* * *

"What's this place?"

"Just follow me," murmured Beca, grabbing his hand and leading him down a dark alley. He glanced back over his shoulder nervously, checking that some unsavoury characters weren't following them. Soon, the alley got lighter, purple spotlights shining from above. They turned a corner and met a gate, manned by a bodyguard. Above the gate was a small sign: '_Asanity.'_

"Hey Harry," Beca said to the bodyguard, showing him her ID.

The heavyset man rolled his eyes. "Go on in. It's not busy tonight," he rumbled. Jesse showed Harry his own ID, and he nodded. "Have a nice evening."

As they passed through the gate and toward a set of steps the led up to a wooden door, Jesse leaned over and whispered, "You aren't leading me into a strip club are you? You said that wasn't on the agenda – ow!" He flinched and rubbed the sore spot on his shoulder where Beca had punched him. "Okay, guess the answer is a no."

"It's an illegal restaurant and dance club. Although today's not a club day. You can still dance though, they play music after 8," she explained in a hushed tone. "Only people who are trusted can actually get past Harry. Trusted people can bring one other person whenever they come though, so that others have the opportunity to enjoy the food."

"So how did you become trusted?" Jesse asked curiously.

Beca smirked in remembrance. "Jordan's brother is married to one of the cooks. We came here one night for Jordan's brother's birthday. It was awesome. And all it is inside is two small apartments that had most of the walls taken out to make it a restaurant. It's just good home cooked food," Beca replied. She opened the door and walked in, going over to the server. "Hey Mariela, table for two?"

The woman nodded and crooked her finger at them, and with a swish of her dark skirts she led them to the back, up a few steps to a secluded section with only two cosy booth tables and a crimson screen obscuring the tables from the rest of the restaurant.

"Uh, Mariela-" Beca muttered uncertainly.

"I thought you might like some privacy," Mariela replied in a thick Spanish accent with a kind, knowing smile.

"I...we-"

"It's very thoughtful of you, thank you very much," Jesse broke in smoothly, smiling gratefully as he took his seat at the second booth further in the corner. "May we get some water to start?"

"Of course." Mariela left, her skirts rustling behind her.

"That's embarrassing," grumbled Beca.

"Oh just come and sit down will you, sour puss? I'm glad. It means we can sit together and get into important things while we wait for our food. Like...making out," Jesse winked teasingly, patting the plush blue covering of the booth invitingly. Beca huffed in feigned annoyance and slid next to Jesse, letting him take his hand in her own so he could kiss her hand in a gentlemanly gesture that made her blush. "I had a great day."

"I'm glad," murmured Beca. "I did too. It feels like forever since I've had fun."

"With me around, it's inevitable," he joked, getting a light smack on his shoulder for his effort. They perused the menu and ordered when Mariela returned five minutes later. When she left to place their order, Jesse took the chance to make good on his suggestion and grabbed Beca so she could straddle him and murmured, "I think it's about time for a make out session."

"Really? You're just gonna put it out there like you're being romantic?"

"Yeah," he replied and captured her lips passionately. There was something about the dim lighting, the privacy, and the whirlwind of experiences today that gave Jesse a heady rush and such emotion to fuel his kiss. He near died when she nibbled his bottom lip and sucked on it wetly, halting his progress into frenching. He felt her slender fingers grabbing his collar and holding him in place.

"Oh God," Jesse whispered as Beca's mouth abruptly dropped from his lips to his neck, her devious tongue circling his pulse point. He couldn't repress the full body shiver.

"Ooh, have I found a sensitive spot Swanson?" Beca said mockingly, a dark glint in her eyes. Maybe it was the privacy, maybe it was Jesse, but she suddenly felt playful and warm for Jesse's form.

He choked, nodding. "No fair…" he complained.

"Even the playing field then," she retorted.

Jesse understood. She was giving him permission to find her sensitive points too. His hands slid from where he had been clutching onto her thighs and under the hem of her top, rubbing hesitantly on her skin. She was so soft and so warm it blew his mind. He smirked in satisfaction when she moaned when he rubbed over the tops of her hip bones.

"Too bad we're in a restaurant," Beca said lowly, removing herself from Jesse's lips and looking into his eyes.

"Even then, I wouldn't let it go further than this," Jesse replied honestly. He saw Beca's walls slam down and before she could angrily bait him, he placed his hand over her mouth and hastily explained, "Not because I don't want you, silly. It's for other reasons."

She growled and he removed his hand. "You're gonna have to expand on that more Jesse."

"It's just, I want it to be special," he answered, searching her expression for the reaction. It was a good one, a smile softening her features.

"You're such a romance nerd," she teased.

He shrugged. "I know you've been skeptical of relationships in general, so when we get to having sex I didn't want to rush or anything, because I don't want to make you think I'm a jerk. I want it to be meaningful. If it wasn't for the fact your mother is watching us like a hawk, I would have been comfortable there if you really, really wanted to take that step. But we aren't going to some hotel just to get our frustrations out. I can wait. I want to wait until we don't have to worry about someone watching us or judging us for doing what's completely normal in a relationship," he murmured.

Beca stroked along the side of his face, his little speech just making her fall harder for him. He was so sweet it was almost unbearable. "Did you rehearse any of that?" she quipped, hoping to joke he got it off a movie. But Jesse's eyes were serious. "No. I meant that," he replied.

Beca closed her eyes, leaning their foreheads together. She initiated the kiss this time, showing him just how _frustrated_ she was. She felt all warm and glowy (if that was even a sensation!) when she was rewarded by a low, husky moan. She wondered how turned on she would be if he started to sing to her.

A quiet clearing of the throat got the couple to part and look at their server guiltily.

Mariela just smiled genially and announced, "Your dinner is served."

"Thank you Mariela," Beca replied, gathering her wits and plopping back into her seat. They tore into the seafood paella and kingfish carpaccio ravenously, talking with everything but their mouths. Smouldering looks and soft caresses were their way of communicating while they ate.

"This is so good. It may be illegal, but this restaurant is awesome," Jesse said determinately, spearing the last of his squid and eating it.

"Escaping reality is always awesome," Beca said in what she hoped was a cryptic manner, but as usual, Jesse saw right through her.

"Hey, don't think about going home. Just think about all the fun we had. Don't let the future spoil the present."

"Yes, oh wise one," Beca murmured sarcastically.

A soft salsa blues fusion began to play from the small dance area in the restaurant. Jesse perked up immediately and nudged his pondering girlfriend. "Come on, let's dance," he suggested.

"No."

"Please. I haven't danced with you before. I want to dance. And who cares? It's an illegal restaurant. No one can tell anyone else they saw you dancing here unless they want to lose the trusted status, right?"

Beca hated it when Jesse was logically correct. She just stood and walked off, looking coyly back over her shoulder in invitation. "Well?"

He grinned and followed her, his hand drifted to the small of her back as they came around the partition and onto the dance floor. To Beca's relief, they weren't the only ones dancing. Two other couples were also swaying slowly to the music. They assumed the position, although they both tried to lead at first, making them chuckle.

"I have to lead. The guy traditionally does that," Jesse advised her.

"Aw, why?" mock pouted Beca, but she gave herself up to Jesse and the music, leaning her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes. It was perfect, especially when Jesse started to hum along, the vibrations making her get goose bumps along her skin.

She wished that this night would never end. She never wanted to go back to the house. After all, she was home in Jesse's arms.

* * *

**A/N: You exhausted from reading? :D I hope you liked it! I tried to cram in so much Beca/Jesse before Vicki does anything. **

**Reviews are always wonderful and appreciated. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourite/followed. I know this was also long in coming, but my muse got really blocked and for that reason I'm not too proud of the chapter. But I would love to hear what you thought about it all the same.

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced and swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes – Chapter 8 – It's brewing**

* * *

"Good morning Vicki."

Vicki Parting halted abruptly, looking back into the kitchen to see Jesse smiling at her from the breakfast nook, raising his mug to her in greeting. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and she said icily, "Yes?"

He shrugged. "I'm just being polite. Saying good morning, hello, how are you, that kind of thing," he replied in an easy tone of voice.

Vicki decided to gather some more information on the boy staying within her home. It seemed from the video footage she had gathered that Jesse and Beca did have a good friendship – something that shocked her, because Beca, being the way she was, simply didn't have friends. But she didn't like him. He was too optimistic and relaxed. He _had_ to be hiding something. "I am well, thank you for asking. And you?" she asked flatly, because she didn't really care.

"I'm great. I've been enjoying Boston so far. And I think tonight is going to be even better, Beca's planning to take us out to karaoke night at a place called Mindy's," Jesse informed her, taking a swig of his tea.

Vicki's nose wrinkled. _Mindy's_ of all places. This is why she cut Beca's allowance by 70% when she was 16. Because she went to places like Mindy's – a casual bar and social watering hole full of people who would never have the hope to enter the upper echelons of society. Honestly, if her daughter had followed in her footsteps instead of being some silly dreamer, she would never have to mingle with the riff-raff.

"Ah. Yes. Well, then you'll both be out past 7pm?" she asked imperiously.

"Yes, but not for too long. Maybe 9pm? Sound good to you?" Jesse put forward, looking as submissive as he could. If he played his cards right, Vicki might be even more flexible in the future days.

"Fine. This doesn't mean I trust you."

"Understood ma'am," Jesse nodded.

Sniffing derisively, Vicki left after that.

"Wow," Jesse muttered, rolling his eyes. There was just something not right with Beca's mother. It was like someone sucked all the goodness out of her…kinda like the dementors in Harry Potter. He drained his drink and washed it out, leaving the mug in the dish rack before moving towards Beca's room. He stood in the doorway, biting his lower lip to keep from chuckling aloud. She was underneath a sheet that was bunched up around her neck and she was snoring so softly he almost couldn't hear it. Her arms were wrapped around her pillow and she looked so vulnerable and at peace.

He didn't want to wake her up, but he did it anyway.

"_Sun's up, a little after twelve. Make breakfast for myself, leave the work for someone else. People say…They say that it's just a phase. They tell me to act my age. Oh yeah, well I am_," Jesse sang happily as he got closer to the bed. He noticed Beca shifting, and a groan escaped her lips.

"_On this perfect day, nothing's standing in my waaaay_!"

"I'm about to stand in your way and give you a black eye," Beca's muffled growl broke into Jesse's singing, but he just laughed, knowing it was an idle threat. He sat next to her prone form and poked her legs gently to entice her to get up. She just grumbled and shoved a pillow over her head to block him out.

"_On this perfect day, when nothing can go wrong_," he continued to sing.

"It's too fucking early for this," Beca huffed, throwing her pillow this way. "Where did you get such a peppy song from?"

"It's on the soundtrack of Legally Blonde. And before you ask, yes, it's on the moviecation list," Jesse replied. "And it's not too early! It's past 8! We were up earlier yesterday."

"Yes, but we were up dancing until 10 and then I had to drive home. Forgive me for being grouchy because I wanted to sleep in," she retorted, sitting up and mussing Jesse's hair up in revenge.

Jesse just looked at her, wondering if she had truly forgot. Seeing her searching his own face, trying to figure out what he was thinking, he surmised that yes, Beca had forgotten. "Becs, you have to be at work today at 9 don't you?"

Her face paled and she murmured, "Shit. Well, that's fantastic. Thanks for reminding me Jess." In planning for his trip, Beca had completely forgotten that she did have a job to go to after all and that this time wouldn't be just about avoiding her mum and hanging around with Jesse. "Because the shop I work at is in a mall, do you want to come with for a little while?" she offered.

"Yeah, sure. It means I can get whatever groceries I need for lunch and dinner. You don't mind me making dinner before we go out tonight do you?" Jesse asked kindly, seeing Beca stressing trying to sort out what she needed to do for the day.

She lifted a brow at him. "You cook?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm no Michelin star chef, but I can cook pasta, steak, burgers, that sort of thing. I can survive. Although, I can't bake. I tried to make my sister a cake for her birthday once and I ended up burning both attempts and having to throw out the pan I made it in," he said, laughing a little in remembrance of his failure. It had been educational. And it got Beca to smile at him in her 'you're an idiot' way.

"Surprise me. Probably best to make extra for mum though," she advised.

"Yup, sure. Now, let's git crackin', daylight's a wastin' darlin'," Jesse quipped with a Texan drawl, having to duck as Beca threw her puppy toy at him.

* * *

"Oh Beca, thank God you're here!"

"Hey Garrett, what's going on?" Beca asked her manager as she went into the music shop. Jesse had gone off to shop for groceries and take them back to the house in Beca's car and then returning to wander around the shopping centre in search of something to occupy him.

Garrett was in his mid-30's, a thin, reedy man who was friendly, but perpetually nervous. He was wringing his hands as she came around to the counter. "Tina's just called and said that she can't make it into her shift!" he cried, dismayed.

Beca fought the urge to sigh and roll her eyes. Garrett really shouldn't be surprised. Tina had done that for every one in four shifts she was supposed to have because she enjoyed hanging out with her posse of high school friends. In a way, Beca was relieved she didn't have to spend six hours with her. "So? I can work the shift alone, I've done it before," she reasoned.

Garrett shook his head rapidly. "No, today a new shipment is coming in. I need another person here and I can't stay because it's my son's game today and he gets fussy if I don't go and-"

"Take a breath boss," Beca broke in.

"And no one else can come in. I called Mike, Layla, Andy and Sam, but they're all busy or out of town on holiday. I have _no one!_" Garrett wailed dramatically.

'_Good grief, get a grip before I get one around your neck,'_ Beca thought viciously. She was not up for dealing with this bullshit.

A light dinged off above her head with her sudden idea. Beca was sure of it. She tapped Garrett's shoulder and proposed a solution. "Look, I know it's against the store policy and against every sane thing ever, but I have a friend visiting me at the moment. He's a nice guy, really friendly, and he's had experience in customer service. Why don't I call him in and see if he can just hang around with me for a few hours just so he can take care of people while the new lot of music and vinyls come in?"

Garrett jumped at the chance. "You're vouching for him?"

"Yeah. 100%, but nothing will happen," Beca replied defensively. As if Jesse would be a worry.

"Then get him in and tell him I'll pay him the same hourly rate as I do for you in cash when he's done. Just write the hours in my notebook," Garrett said, looking a lot less nervous now he knew he didn't have to work the shift himself.

As her boss bolted from the shop, Beca called Jesse.

"Hey beautiful! Miss me already?"

She was _never_ going to admit the compliment made her blush. "No, I don't. I never miss you. I just keep you around for my own entertainment."

"Ouch, right in the ego again. What's up?"

Beca hesitantly asked, "I know you're here for a vacation, but would you mind working with me at the music shop for a few hours? My boss had a freak out about another chick not rocking up so I suggested you. You okay with it?"

And that was how Jesse came to work with Beca at the music store that day.

"I can't believe that your boss is doing this."

"He's weird. He'd rather get a stranger to work than be responsible and do it himself even at the cost of family," Beca replied, not really caring. She was doing her job, marking down old Madonna albums for sale while Jesse was reading the learner manual for the touch screen cash register. "Besides, it's not like we haven't worked together before."

"Yeah, but we stack CD's, not actually sell them at Barden," he pointed out, closing the manual and starting to play around with the register to get the feel of it.

Beca snorted and said, "This isn't really that different. You'll be fine. I bet you anything you'll smile and get any girl to buy something in here."

Jesse picked up on the undertone of her voice, and he looked up, finding her jamming Madonna back into the racks more forcefully than what was necessary. "Well, yeah, gotta turn on the charm so that we make sales, make sure your boss still likes you," he mentioned, still gauging Beca's reaction.

She paused, shoulders hiking up when she tensed. It was a dead giveaway that she felt at least a small amount of possessiveness over him. For some reason, it made Jesse grin that Beca could be a little jealous over him. It stroked his ego in a way he'd never felt before. But to soothe her, he murmured quietly, "But it's a pity. The only person worthy of my charm happens to be a total movie hater."

Beca's posture eased again, and Jesse could just see the faint smile on her face as she turned to mark down some old Matchbox 20.

As it turns out, Beca's prediction was partially true. Teenage girls and young women walking past the music shop slowed and actually went in at seeing someone new and good looking manning the register. Jesse was friendly and engaging, eagerly discussing whatever music each customer was looking for. While he worked his people skills, Beca had the time to stock each new shipment of CD's and vinyls, glad, for once, that she wasn't dealing with people. When the end of the shift approached, Beca raised an eyebrow and asked him, "So, how many numbers did you get?"

With a flush, Jesse pulled three out of his pocket and promptly tore them up. "I hate it when you're right. But on the plus side, I managed to get rid of that over order of George Michael in the back," he said.

"Nice." Beca smirked, reaching over and ruffling his hair, not voicing how grateful she was to have him working there with her. She'd rather him over any of the other people she had to work with.

Garrett appeared then, looking flustered as he came to take over the shift. "Everything went well?" he questioned the pair.

"Yep. Can we go?" Beca asked, itching to get out of there.

Her boss nodded. The pair collected their things and were almost out the store when a strangled sort of sound coming from Garrett made them turn back around. "What's up man?" Jesse called.

The reedy man stared at the couple in astonishment. "How…what…this can't be right! You can't have made this much money! It's Wednesday, one of the most flat days in the week, and you've made more today than we have in the past six months!" he sputtered.

Their eyes widened and Beca informed him, "Jesse was the only one really helping people. I was rarely on the cash machine."

"You looking for a job Jesse?" Garrett burst out excitedly.

He laughed and shook his head. "Sorry dude. I'm a North Carolina boy through and through, but I was glad to help out today. Just give the cash to Beca when it comes time for the pays." He grasped Beca's hand and they walked out of the shopping centre and got into Beca's car.

"That was impressive," remarked the brunette woman.

"I was just trying to give people what they wanted," replied Jesse casually. He really didn't see what the fuss was about. He just did what he had to do.

Beca was quiet until they were almost at her house. She finally whispered, "Thanks Jesse."

"You're welcome," he said warmly.

* * *

After an awkward dinner in which Vicki joined them at the table to eat steak with a pear, rocket, spinach and blue cheese salad, Beca and Jesse headed out to _Mindy's_. It wasn't too far away and so they had decided to walk there. Beca was just relieved to get out of the house. Her mother had burnt her back with her blazing glare as she and Jesse chatted while they washed up. It had made her gut twist in anticipation. She hoped her mother wasn't planning something.

"You know, you don't like singing in public unless it's for Bella's, and even then, you kinda look like you don't wanna be up on stage. Why are you taking me to a karaoke night?" the treblemaker asked.

Beca shrugged in response. Dissatisfied by this, Jesse nudged her. She shoved back. So he tickled her, making her laugh uncontrollably. "Okay, okay!" she cried. "Uncle, uncle!" When Jesse released her, she replied, "I thought you'd enjoy going up on stage and making a fool of yourself while I watched."

The words were insulting, but the tone wasn't, and Jesse could see right through her. He knew what she wanted then. She just wanted to hear his voice. Fair enough, but he felt like being cheeky. "Okay, I'll sing whatever you want me to sing, and I mean, you can pick whatever I sing, but on one condition."

Beca eyed him warily. "What's the condition?"

"You have to sing just _one_ duet with me."

"No."

"Beca-" Jesse protested, but Beca cut in over him.

"Look nerd, I'm not comfortable. I might have dedicated a song set to you for ICCA's, but no way am I comfortable enough to sing a duet with you yet," she explained flatly.

Jesse's tone became soft and pleading. "Beca, please? If not a duet, can you sing a song? Any song, I really don't care, but I want to hear you," he implored.

'_Why do I always give in?'_ she asked herself, knowing that she was going to do it. "Okay. _One_ song, and after you've done the first one," she bargained.

"Deal." They shook hands as they reached the bar.

_Mindy's_ was an interesting place. It was more reminiscent of the 80's, with posters wallpapering ever section of wall behind the bar and a jukebox underneath the stairs up to the karaoke room. The decor utilised mostly wood and brass, offset by a dance floor up lit with blue and yellow lights. There were young people, old people, and people in between, all from different walks of life. It was a cheery atmosphere, which surprised Jesse.

"Everyone seems pretty cool," observed Jesse.

"Yeah, Mindy, the owner, doesn't like people fighting or macho bullshit in her bar, so everyone knows if you've got a problem with someone, you don't come into the place," Beca explained. "She's also cool with under 21's being in here, as long as they don't order alcohol."

"Sweet."

Beca led him up the stairs to where the Karaoke night was beginning. They signed their names, with Beca choosing Jesse's songs and hiding her own song choice from him. After sitting through an unbearable rendition of Whitney Houston's 'I will always love you' Jesse was up next. When the song title came up, he grinned widely. He was surprised that the aloof, reclusive at times girlfriend of his would want him to sing this. Mustering up his Treblemaker swagger, he focused on Beca, sitting on a stool towards the back of the room.

"_I'm bringing sexy back  
Them other boys don't know how to act  
I think you're special, what's behind your back?  
So turn around and I'll pick up the slack._

_Dirty babe_  
_You see these shackles_  
_Baby I'm your slave_  
_I'll let you whip me if I misbehave_  
_It's just that no one makes me feel this way…"_

Beca was completely amused and definitely heating up from watching Jesse strut his stuff on stage. The reason she had chosen this song was to laugh at Jesse asking her to whip him if he misbehaved, but the lyrics took on a more sensual meaning when they passed through his lips. She just sat, watching him through lowered eyelids, as he was absorbed in the music, shaking his hips and pointing at her. When he finished to loud applause and whistles, he strutted over to her and handed over the microphone, challenging her with a look. Beca took it and went off up to the stage, exaggerating the sway of her hips.

She was going to sing one of her favourites.

_Been there, done that, messed around  
I'm having fun, don't put me down  
I'll never let you sweep me off my feet  
I won't let you in again  
The messages I tried to send  
My information's just not going in_

_I'm burning bridges shore to shore_  
_I break away from something more_  
_I'm not turned off to love until it's cheap_  
_Been there, done that, messed around_  
_I'm having fun, don't put me down_  
_I'll never let you sweep me off my feet_

_This time baby,_  
_I'll be, bulletproof_  
_This time baby,_  
_I'll be, bulletproof_

After her song, Beca returned to where Jesse sat beaming at her. She didn't realise he wanted to hear her sing _that_ badly. While the next person got up and attempted to have a crack at Wham's 'Wake Me Up!', Beca took a sip of her lime and bitters.

"Nice work, although I should have expected that song from you," Jesse remarked proudly.

Beca just gave him a plastic smile and said lowly, "Can't wait to see you sing the next songs."

Jesse's stomach sank with the realisation that maybe the JT song was just an easy warm up and to never underestimate Beca's devious mind.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I stopped it here because the chapter was getting too long. That, and it'll make it a point of conversation for the duo next chapter.**

**Like I said in the first note, I'm not too happy with this one as it's mainly a bridging chapter before the drama, but feedback is always appreciated. **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourite/followed. Thanks to the kind words of those who assured me that last chapter wasn't the disappointment I feared it'd be. I'm so critical of my own work sometimes.

BTW The drama is stepped up a notch in this chapter.

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced and swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes – Chapter 9 – Hard Truths**

* * *

"You are an evil woman, Beca Mitchell."

"I try," she replied smugly.

Jesse gave her his own version of a fake smile and said, "No, really, you are. Signing me up to sing 'You Sexy Thing' by that Hot Chocolate band and then 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua. You are such a cruel, cruel thing to shoot my ego to pieces like that." He grimaced in remembrance of the odd looks he received upon attempting to sing that last song.

Beca just snickered softly, greatly satisfied. She had laughed loudly upon hearing Jesse sing both songs, so hard that tears had leaked out of her eyes.

"Payback is a bitch, just so you know," Jesse murmured, reaching over the poke her upper arm insistently until she grabbed it and slung it around her shoulders. They were a minute away from the house, so Beca decided to soak up Jesse's warmth and presence as much as she could before they returned. It had been another pleasant experience at _Mindy's_ and as far as she could tell, Jesse had enjoyed himself immensely, even through the embarrassing songs she had made him sing.

Upon unlocking the front door and entering the darkened house, Beca felt that something was off.

It wasn't even 9.30 yet, and her mother was in her room, as evidenced by the light shining through a small gap. She was in the house, which was clear because her car was in the driveway. But why wouldn't she be watching tv like she usually did…?

Jesse had just come in behind her when they both heard it.

A low, male voice emanating from Vicki's room, accompanied by her high, icy tone.

"_Please, mistress, whip me again."_

"_Only because you asked so nicely, my pet."_

Beca froze, a wash of emotion hitting her. She felt repulsed by the knowledge her mother had brought a rare man home for some of her dominance sex games, grossed out by the fact her mother _knew_ they would be returning at this time and had gone ahead anyway, and most of all, utterly ashamed and humiliated that Jesse was present and hearing this. "Oh my god," she groaned, face darkening with a pink flush.

"_Oh, mistress,"_ the male replied, clearly heard through the door.

Jesse cocked his head to the side, incredulous. "Wow…" he muttered. Of all things that he had expected, this was definitely not one of them. He was grossed out by it, but in taking in Beca's posture and muttered words, he felt sorry for his girlfriend. She had to live with this. And he had a feeling this was intentional. After all, the door was ever so slightly opened, like Vicki had wanted them to know exactly what she was doing. He decided to ignore it and roll with the hand he had been dealt. Taking Beca's hand, he pulled her from her stunned state and guided her into her room, enclosing them from the noise by shutting the door with a snap.

"Fuck. Fuck. Shit, fuck, crap, and shit," Beca cursed, stumbling back and collapsing on her bed, her hands covering her face. She was amazed that Jesse had taken 'it' in his stride if his silence and concern for her was any indication.

"Yep."

"I'm so sorry you had to hear that Jesse," the prone girl replied, peering through her fingers to see Jesse sitting in her desk chair, rolling it over to her bed.

He shrugged. "I know it's natural for people to want to scratch that itch, and hell, I know my parents aren't celibate, but we never hear them. But that was pretty blatant," he said.

"No shit Sherlock," Beca grumbled, punching a pillow in disgust for her mother. There was that feeling, that angry ashamed feeling like someone had scooped out her insides from her ribcage down. Upset, she told him, "She's done that before. Brought a guy home and kept me up all night by keeping the door open and being…loud. I swear, she does it just out of spite to annoy me."

"Why?" probed Jesse quietly.

"She sees having a man under your thumb as a measure of success and flaunts it that she's more sophisticated and so attractive that men will willingly fall at her feet," Beca mumbled softly, anger and hurt warring within her. She loved her mother to some extent but when she acted like this is made it easy to dislike her.

Jesse looked thoughtful. "I'm all for girl power and feminism, but I think that's going about it the wrong way."

Beca stared at the ceiling. Why couldn't she have a normal family? Why, for once, couldn't her mother let her have some happiness? _Why wasn't she, Beca, enough?_

She must have said the last question aloud for Jesse grimaced and he gazed upon her with so much sympathy she almost growled at him. Instead of retreating, Jesse crawled into the bed behind her slender figure, sliding his arms around her. "This ok?" he checked. With Beca facing away from him (it usually made talking about personal things easier), he felt more than saw her nod. He wanted to address what she had said.

"Beca, it's not that you're not enough," Jesse began. "You are. You totally are. For me and for the Bella's, and for your father too. I can't speak for your mother. I don't think anyone can, but the way she treats you isn't right, regardless of anything that's happened in the past. If she's just taking out bitterness over the divorce on you, or because you want to carve your own path in this world, then that's on her, not you. She can't control you, just like I can't control you." He paused, feeling Beca shudder in his arms, trying to hold back her emotions. Jesse shut his eyes, deciding to just bite the bullet and say what he had been wanting to say about Vicki. "Becs…if you've been enduring this since the divorce, then it's years of emotional abuse."

"It's not abuse," she protested quickly. She wouldn't label herself as abused, it made her feel weak.

"It is, regardless of how strong it's made you. It's playing stupid mind games. It's making you feel like you're not worth anything, it's making you not feel at home at a place you _should_ feel at home. It's not supporting you through thick and thin and showing care," Jesse pointed out fiercely. "You _shouldn't_ have to put up with this." He squeezed her, glad she didn't fight against him like he expected. Instead, he felt Beca's shoulders sag and she pressed back into him.

"I…" Beca hesitated. His words put things into perspective – but in all honestly, it was a perspective she had subconsciously known for a while. Her mother's indifference and emotional back and forth, the neglect at times, wasn't normal.

It was just so much simpler to push away cold evidence into a realm of denial.

Jesse decided to suggest in the ensuing silence, "Why don't you move to Atlanta soon rather than wait out the summer? Why prolong such a bad experience? You deserve better."

Beca's stubbornness reared its head. "I can't."

"Why not? Or better yet, why don't you come to spend some time in North Carolina with me? You know my parents would love to have you," he pushed.

Beca bit her tongue to keep from snapping, composing herself and saying forcefully, "I have to stay. I have to endure this-"

"What for?" Jesse asked exasperatedly.

"Because she's my mother," Beca finally answered softly, choking up at the end. She couldn't explain it. She felt like she would fail some sort of test if she didn't. And because, at the end of the day, this summer was the last chance she would probably have to make her mother proud in some way. Deep down, Beca wanted her mother's approval, the love she had felt as a young child before something had gone wrong in Vicki's brain.

Jesse seemed to understand, pressing a kiss to the gap of skin at the nape of her neck. "Okay then. I guess we'll just have to make the most of the rest of this week then." He sat up and said, "I better get to my room."

Beca's hand shot out, gripping his arm with a force that surprised the both of them.

"Stay," she implored, staring at the door blankly.

Jesse, indecisive, wondered if it was wise, but lay back down all the same, collecting the lithe body in his arms again and throwing the light blanket over them. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Beca managed a wan smile at that. So sweet of him, really, making sure that she was comfortable at all times, knowing that pushing too hard would make her react unfavourably. "Would I tell you to stay if I wasn't?" she shot back.

Jesse's chuckle rumbled through her body wonderfully and his melodic voice whispered, "Who knows with your mind. But can I just say that this is a first for me – sleeping in the same bed with another girl that's not my mother or sister."

The information made Beca feel like she had just drunk a fresh, hot coffee, all warm inside. "Same here too, weirdo. You're the first guy, ever," she admitted. She knew he was grinning at the comment, and settled down to rest.

"Good night million dollar baby."

"Good night dork."

It was new, but surprisingly comfortable to get used to the position they were in, curled up together. When Jesse's breathing evened out, Beca reflected that she had never felt so safe, secure, and _wanted_ in the world as when she was in Jesse's arms. While music was her comfort, her inspiration, her sanctuary to retreat to, there had never been a physical embodiment of it until now.

With that knowledge warming her heart, she fell asleep against the peacefully slumbering Jesse.

* * *

Vicki Parting woke up very satisfied with herself.

Not only did she feel somewhat relaxed from the orgasms she had demanded Tim (or was it Tom? Oh who cares, he was young and active, and most of all, _willing_) give her, but she had successfully timed it so that Beca and her friend Jesse had known exactly what she was up to.

Was it petty? Probably. But she didn't care.

She had to remind the two who had the power and supremacy within the household. She did. If she wanted to have sex and have them know about it, then she would.

Maybe it was time to introduce Beca to the wealthy sons of high end law firm partners, to show her how good this life was. Vicki hummed thoughtfully as she slid out of her silk sheets and pulled on her robe. She convinced herself that this life had been a much better one than the one before the divorce.

Vicki paused, a tremor of emotion making its way up through her facade as she remembered that time in her life. She hadn't gotten what she had wanted at the time, with David being so resistant to something that would further her own career, so she had initiated the divorce and gotten her revenge.

Now, if Beca hadn't taken after her _father_ so much, maybe she wouldn't find it so hard to love her.

Vicki sighed, irritated. Beca had been a lovely child at first, if headstrong. But her father had tainted her with idealism and dreaming and had turned Beca against her. Why else would Beca prefer David to her? So when the divorce happened, and Vicki had set out to make sure Beca would never go to David permanently by lying to the young girl about why 'daddy' had left them.

Because Beca was the prize against David Mitchell, and she had won.

Smirking faintly, Vicki moved to her computer. She had to check the camera logs, see if anything interesting had happened. Maybe she would see that Jesse boy in his boxers again. He was good looking, if a bit too young for her tastes.

As she reviewed the footage, her face twisted from blankness to outright rage.

'_He broke my RULES!'_ she screamed internally, rewinding the living area footage, seeing the pair go down the hall and presumably into Beca's room together, for the boy didn't show up in his room according to the camera.

"I'll show them," Vicki hissed. She controlled Beca. And this Jesse boy had just made a huge mistake.

* * *

**A/N: **I promised drama didn't I? :D It's coming. Next chapter will be good, I promise. I'll try and get it up before I go travelling.

**I hope you enjoyed Jesse and Beca talking about the subjects they did. And yes, Vicki is a psychopath, but there is a reason for it which will eventually be revealed. Reviews are always awesome and treasured! Just saying ;) **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourite/followed. Thank you for being so patient in waiting for me to get out this chapter. My little holiday was just what I needed to get the creative juices going. The fic is going into a new direction after this chapter.

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced and swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes – Chapter 10 – Confrontation**

* * *

_Dream Sequence _

_Five year old Beca Mitchell was staring at the TV screen, enthralled at Pinocchio's nose growing longer. She giggled, and looked around for her mummy and daddy so she could show them how funny this was. She slipped off the couch and went towards the kitchen. _

_Her daddy was sitting on a chair, his head in his hands, glancing worriedly at his wife, who was opposite him, looking blank, but her eyes had a haunted cast to them. Little Beca knew something wasn't right. _

_She whispered, "Mummy?"_

_Her parents didn't seem to hear her. _

_The pitter-patter of her feet echoed in the silence and Beca said louder, "Mummy? Daddy? You ok?" _

_David mustered up a small smile for his little girl. "Hey sweetheart," he murmured to her, groaning with effort to hoist her up off the ground when she reached him, embracing her tightly. "Everything's ok now I've got a special hug from you. Why don't you go give mummy one too?"_

"_Okay," Beca replied sweetly, running around to her mother's side and reaching her hands up. "Mummy, up! I want to give you special hugs!"_

_Vicki gazed down at her only daughter sadly, restraining tears at seeing her own eyes back at her. "Okay baby, you can come here," she said, picking her up awkwardly, hugging her loosely. Beca didn't like this hug. She felt like she was going to fall off. "Can I go back to daddy now?" she asked. _

_Something flickered in Vicki's eyes before they went blank. "Sure Beca," she replied softly, letting her daughter slide down. _

_David knew his wife's emotional state was fragile at best and gently took his little girl by the hand. "Come on Beca, you can show me Pinocchio while mum has some private time."_

_Behind their retreating backs, neither father or daughter saw the absolute hate in Vicki's eyes at their joined hands._

_End dream sequence_

* * *

Beca's eyes snapped open. That wasn't exactly a dream, more of a memory – although she had never seen her mother that spiteful towards her at such a young age. Was that her brain filling in the gaps provided by her father, the truth after all these years that Vicki had been insanely jealous of their father-daughter bond and sought to ruin it?

She didn't have time to ponder it when two things happened one after the other.

The first being that Jesse was still in her bed, curled around her and keeping her warm although they were both still fully clothed. His arms were banded around her waist and she could feel the light puffs of air from his slow, even breathing. She blushed, embarrassed at being so cutesy, but it was surprisingly natural, comfortable.

That wonderful feeling was soon destroyed by a shrill scream of rage from outside her door.

Happiness dropped into fully fledged panic for Beca and she bolted up, realising that Jesse was _in her bed_ and the door was closed. Her mother must have checked the cameras which meant…

"BECAAAA! GET UP NOW!"

"Fuck," Beca swore, scrambling out of bed just as a groggy Jesse, woken by the screaming, sat up.

"Wha-?"

"Jesse, get up, she's so pissed off," Beca said frantically, not knowing what to do, what to say, anything so that she could protect Jesse from her mother.

His head lulled from side to side and he slowly rose and murmured, "I don't understand, who was screaming?"

Jesse was answered when the door was thrown open, banging painfully against Beca's outstretched arm, a furious Vicki standing in the doorway dressed in nothing but a closed silk robe and hatred.

"HA! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! You thought you'd pull one over on me, you think I'm stupid," she raged, jabbing her index finger towards Beca's face, making her inch back towards the bed, moving her body before Jesse. "I should have known you would have disobeyed me, that you're a dirty, filthy, rotten liar, Beca Mitchell. _He's only my friend,_" Vicki mocked in a babyish tone, waving her hands about wildly. "What utter bullshit! Best friends all right, with all the benefits."

"We weren't doing anything!" Beca rallied back angrily, all hopes of speaking to her mother rationally spinning down the drain. "He just fell asleep in my bed with me in it!"

Vicki glared at Jesse, viciously spitting out, "You broke my rules. Are you that stupid? You couldn't understand the meaning of leave the door open if you're in the same room? I told you not to mess with common propriety!"

Jesse was usually a very patient person. But he had been woken up from a very pleasant sleep with the girl of his dreams in his arms by this bitch of a person, made to feel like an idiot, and also made to feel guilty for getting caught – because it further ruined Beca's relationship with her mother. Laying his hand on Beca's shoulder in a sign of support, he simply replied, "I believe you broke your own rules last night Ms. Parting. I don't think it's a measure of common propriety to let the whole house know _exactly_ what you're up to. If you get my drift."

Vicki's face darkened in her anger and she hissed, "That doesn't concern you _boy_."

"Then my relationship with Beca doesn't concern you either, what we have and haven't done," Jesse said firmly.

Beca was staring at him like he was crazy. The composed, steady look confirmed it for her. Yep, her boyfriend had to be fucking insane to be so calm! While a small part of her was flattered he was standing up for her, she was too worried about how her mother would react to this show of defiance. She turned back, more torn than she had ever been before (except for when it had come to the past year with the Bellas). "Mum, look, just cool off-"

"Don't you TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" she shrieked, acting more like a two year old having a temper tantrum than a mother. "You've had a boyfriend all this time!"

"Why the hell is that such a big deal!?" Beca finally lost her patience, screaming right back. She had enough of trying to be the bigger person in this mockery of a familial relationship. "You can't control me any more _mother_. I'm my own person and I will never be forced into a mould I'll never fit into. I'm so sick of you taking out your anger on me. You've been so bitter for so many years that I got on better with dad, that you couldn't biologically have any more children, that you lost the two that almost got to four months and was stuck with me, the disappointment. You've been depressed for so long, not seeking any help and it's turned you into a completely different person since you've had me!"

When the truth came free, Beca clapped a hand over her mouth. Oh god, what had she done?

She had spilled her guts in front of Jesse and her mum.

She would have laughed at such a soap opera situation if it wasn't for the stark stunned silence in wake of her words. For as much as she was tense, a great weight felt like it had been lifted off her shoulders.

Jesse's eyes were wide with shock and conveyed his deepest sorrow for such a breaking of bonds.

Vicki on the other hand expressed defeat for a few moments before her prevalent anger took over. "How dare you," she whispered in an icy tone.

"Dad told me the truth," Beca said quietly, holding her ground. It was the worst time for this to happen, but it had to happen sooner or later.

Vicki slumped, turning around as if she couldn't bear to look at them. "Get out."

"Ms. Parting-" Jesse attempted to reason softly, but was cut off by Vicki's snarled, "You are no longer welcome in my house. Get out, Mr. Swanson."

Jesse stilled, but didn't resist. Without a word, he pushed past Beca and Vicki – ignoring Beca's strangled protest of 'no' – and into the guest room, grabbing his suitcase and beginning to pack. He resolved not to create any more angst in fighting against the decision. He was smart. He knew when to bow out gracefully. He listened as his girlfriend and her mother turned their attention on each other and wished that he could turn back time to last night so he could have refused Beca's heartfelt plea to stay.

Seeing Jesse taking her mother's treatment on the chin, Beca whirled around and hissed, "You can't just do that!"

"I just did." Vicki's hand shot out, slamming the door shut to enclose the two of them in the room. "You are a disgrace to me, Beca. Airing our dirty laundry like that," she said in a quiet, blank tone. "Now, I will overlook this egregious deviation from normal behaviour if you enrol yourself in a quality pre-law program and promise to never speak to that _boy_ again."

In that moment, everything became crystal clear for Beca. No more being stubborn or resistant to what she knew in her heart this whole time.

She took a deep breath, took a long, hard, look at her mother, and said in a loud and clear tone, "Fuck. You."

"Beca!" Vicki gasped in anger, expecting her daughter might just behave for once.

She waved her mother off, turning away and yanking her suitcase and duffle bag from underneath her bed. "I'm not going to put up with this anymore. You want Jesse gone? I'm going right along with him. Don't look for me, don't come after me, and if you even try to blackmail me or anything stupid and immature like that, I will deny you gave birth to me. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a mother. She abandoned me the day I became an individual," she said, locking all the hurt, the pain of the boiling anger and disbelief away behind an unemotional mask. "You don't have to worry about me any more – I'm no longer your problem."

Vicki gaped at the sheer audacity. "You listen-" she started, but Beca whirled around, her eyes sparking with annoyance.

"Stop pushing it! Give me half an hour and you can go back to your sad, pathetic lawyer life without me."

Vicki wanted to grab her daughter and shake her until she saw things her way. She wanted to scream.

But something had gone through her thick skull.

She couldn't control Beca anymore. Not without legal ramifications.

Full of spite and malice, Vicki murmured, "Fine. If you aren't out of here after an hour is up, I will call the police, for from that point on you will be trespassing."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Stormy blue eyes, the same shade in colour, locked in a battle of wills for a few more minutes before Vicki stomped out in a huff. After her mother's bedroom door slammed, Beca sighed, shuddering as the tension left her and the reality of the decision hit her.

She was leaving.

She was going to be leaving this house for the last time.

No more guilt, no more disappointment, no more looking over her shoulder to make sure her mother wouldn't be there to negative every single move she made.

Relief was slow in coming, for Beca knew that she couldn't go straight down to Atlanta. Her father and Sheila were away in Chicago for a conference and wouldn't be back at their home for another week. Even if she took her time driving down to Atlanta, she couldn't be certain it would take a week, and she wasn't looking forward to spending money for a place to stay.

And what about Jesse?

Beca was chucking clothes into her bags hastily, the pressure of what to do weighing down on her.

It wasn't until she had finished packing her clothing that she had a sudden idea.

If Jesse was up to it, that was.

Meanwhile, Jesse had finished gathering his belongings and peeked out into the hallway, noting that things had been silent except for the sounds of some things banging around in Beca's room. He carefully walked in, watching as the slight form before him shook every now and then, her face cold and composed.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. _For screwing this up_.

"It's okay," she replied. _It was never your responsibility or your fault. I mean it_. She glanced through her hair at him and continued, "_I'm_ sorry. Now we have to get you back home and your parents are gonna hate the fact that your flight fare is going to be wasted, they're gonna think I'm a mental case and…"

Jesse moved to envelop her in his arms. He didn't care about the flight. It was money. He could always earn more. "We're going to be fine. Don't worry about the fact I'll probably miss my flight. Why don't we take a road trip down to North Carolina? Stay with me for a while. My parents won't see things badly if we tell them what happened," he said.

"I don't want to impose-"

"Beca," Jess said firmly, pulling back and looking into her eyes. "Let's just go. Let's just leave our worries here in Boston and we'll deal with them as they come up."

Beca nodded slowly. She was thankful that Jesse was so 'go with the flow.' "I have an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Chloe's living in New York and she's been bugging me to visit. You think we should on the way down south?" she suggested.

"Why not, as long as she's happy to have us. Just, one thing," Jesse said. When Beca raised an eyebrow in question, Jesse mentioned, "Make sure she doesn't try and corner me in the shower."

Although weak, the reference got Beca to smile. "I'm sure it won't come to that," she said dryly.

Jesse jerked his head towards the door. "C'mon kid, let's blow this popsicle stand. Let's pack everything up in your car, and you won't ever have to see these four walls again."

Gathering up the last of her books, posters and other belongings, Beca glanced around the stark, bare room, now devoid of the flavour she had given it through her possessions. Oddly, sadness came creeping in. This was what she had known for so long and now she was forging a path that was better for her. She was angry that it had taken her so long.

But at long last, she had hope.

* * *

**A/N: I hope it was worth the wait! Reviews are very much appreciated. Even if I don't reply to them because I forget/get busy/fall asleep on my laptop, I do read them and take in your feedback eagerly :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourite/followed. Thank you for being so patient in waiting for me to get out this chapter.

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced and swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes Chapter 11 – Chloe**

* * *

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm sorry ma'am, my bullshit detector is going off and making all sorts of noises."

Beca kept her eyes on the road and her grip of the steering wheel tight, stretching the skin over her knuckles. She didn't want to talk about this right now. No way. She was still trying to keep her cool and not pull over to the side of the highway and have a sobbing fit. They were still three hours away from New York, and she was grateful Jesse had held off on asking questions. Regardless, she didn't want to discuss it.

"Beca-" Jesse began, but halted himself, appraising her out of the corner of his eyes. "You know, you might as well just tell me now and get it over and done with so I don't bug you."

"You'll bug me regardless," she replied tersely.

"True, but if we get it over with now, you won't have any other witnesses but me," he said.

Beca understood what he was implying. Chloe – already alerted to the fact something was _seriously_ off in their recent phone call – wouldn't leave her alone until she got the truth. When they reached North Carolina, Jesse's family would be around and would make it hard for Beca to let her guard down.

But she didn't want to talk about it.

* * *

They had stopped at a gas station to fill up the Rav4 and switch drivers when Jesse passed her a pack of twizzlers and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"No."

"Just tell me what your mum had over your dad that allowed her to keep you with her all these years," he entreated, smoothly getting back onto the main road. "That's what I can't figure out. Your dad is cool, Becs, and he doesn't seem like the type to give you up without a fight."

Beca stared out the window, frowning at her reflection in the glare of the sun. Her eyes were red rimmed from holding back tears, and her usual dark eye makeup she used as a shield was missing. She didn't like the way she looked.

Jesse sighed, knowing trying to move Beca when she didn't want to be moved on an issue was like trying to move a huge hunk of rock. It couldn't be done, at least not without the proverbial cuts and bruises.

They were an hour away from Chloe's apartment when she spoke, soft, the words slightly raspy from her tongue.

"My mother wanted the divorce because she wanted to move from where we lived in New York to further her career. To Chicago. Dad didn't want to, because he worked at NYU and was doing well. She was already having mental breakdowns at home and stuff, and according to dad, was jealous of how well we got along. So she divorced him – and not even a day after she kicked him out, mum told me lies. That he cheated on her. That dad wanted her to stay at home and look after me while he worked. That he didn't want me as a daughter in the first place. I was a kid. After a while, I believed her," Beca murmured. "The reality was as soon as dad left, mum had another guy to take his place. Dad told me that mum threatened him. Threatened that if he tried to get me back, if he tried to win more contact with me, that she would move the two of us to the UK and get restraining orders so that he could never come near us."

"That's terrible," Jesse said.

"Ya think?" Beca snorted. "Anyway, that's why. She blackmailed him, and me, into thinking that we didn't care about each other anymore. And it worked for a long time."

Jesse leaned back, navigating the hectic motorway with ease as he absorbed the information.

It only made him admire Beca more for being as resilient as she was. "Thank you," he said.

They both knew what he was thanking her for, and by unspoken agreement, they put the matter out of their minds.

* * *

"Beca! Jesse!"

Chloe's shrill squeal of excitement made both Beca and Jesse wince. The redhead lunged out of her apartment doorway at them, pulling them both to her in an enthusiastic hug. "Oh my god you're both here! This is awesome! We're going to have so much fun. We're gonna watch movies, play singstar, I'm going to show you all of my favourite places to eat and drink and we'll even catch a musical! And-" she released their necks, only to grab their hands and pull them inside, much to Jesse's bemusement and Beca's irritation.

"It's going to be aca-awesome," Chloe finished happily, beaming at the couple.

"Nice to see you too Chloe," Jesse smiled back at her.

"Yeah, hi," Beca muttered, uncomfortable with the cheeriness of her friend when she had just been put through the wringer. She didn't want to think about it and dragged her bag behind her, taking a good look around Chloe's apartment. She thought that it suited the bubbly redhead. There was bright art decorating the walls to contrast with the white walls and warm woods. There was a comfy looking grey sofa covered in citrus coloured cushions and there was a bowl of jelly snakes on the coffee table in front of it with a little 'welcome' card next to it.

The niceness of it all made Beca feel ill.

"Hey Chloe, where do you want me to dump these?" she asked.

"Oh, I'll show you. I only have one guest bedroom – are you and Jesse alright to share?" Chloe informed them, curbing her enthusiasm when she observed that Beca hadn't even smiled once.

"It's up to Beca," Jesse said diplomatically.

"Yeah, we're fine," Beca confirmed, following Chloe down an small L-shaped hallway ending in three doors.

"My bedroom is the door on the left, yours is on the right, and the bathroom is in between. I'll give you guys a few minutes to settle in," Chloe said, giving them both a smile and humming on her way back to the kitchen, reminding Jesse somewhat of a carefree bumblebee. Beca, on the other hand, pushed her way through the doorway and dropped her bag on the floor just inside, flopping on the bed.

Jesse moved to the opposite side and placed his own belongings down. "I know this morning has been hard, but you could at least hide the mood from Chloe a bit more," he suggested mildly.

"Wow, I'm sorry my mood is so inconvenient to the both of you," Beca muttered acidly.

Without even looking at him, she could feel him tense. She buried her head in the pillow and almost growled. All she wanted was a little peace so she could figure herself out, because right now, she felt confused, angry, and tangled up in her problems.

"Okay. I'll leave you alone," Jesse murmured, getting up once more and going back out into the living area, where Chloe was chewing nervously on her thumb on the couch. She looked at him, a frown deepening creases in her brow.

"I knew she sounded weird on the phone, and that this little trip was spontaneous, but something's up. Am I right?" she asked.

"Give the girl a prize," Jesse teased half-heartedly. He dropped down next to her. He had always liked Chloe. She, apart from Beca, had been one of the few Bella's to treat the Treblemakers normally, like they were people and not mere rivals. She had chatted with him occasionally – because that's who she was. Bubbly and unjudging.

Chloe turned towards him and asked quietly, "Is there anything I can do? With whatever is going on?"

Jesse was glad that she knew Beca well enough to know that Beca would come clean with whatever problem in her own time. So he advised, "Just act normal. Do the stuff that you said we'd do. Just…be her friend."

"That's easy. I'm more concerned about you," Chloe said.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. You're the one closest to her right now, and I don't want a repeat of the past year." The redhead closed her eyes and let out a breath. "I want Beca happy. You make her happy. She pulled us together, and I will never be able to thank her enough for that. But I still don't know what makes her tick, and I think you do. So that makes me, as friend to Beca, responsible for making sure you are both okay."

"Thanks, then," said Jesse.

Chloe slung an arm around him to give him a brief squeeze. "I know your relationship is new and all, so whatever is going on with Beca, I want to ease the burden a little, you know, so that way if you feel like you're getting a little overwhelmed…" she explained.

Jesse hugged her in return, grateful that they had come here.

Beca, meanwhile, wished that she had no emotions whatsoever.

Because they were doing funny things with her heart, mind, and even her stomach. She was this great big pent up ball of emotion with no safe way to channel it out of her without hurting the people around. Her stomach was tight with anxiety, almost like she was going to puke up what little breakfast was in there. She had a headache and every thought was too hard to even think. As for her heart…well, at least it was confirmed she had one, for it was beating with heartbreak.

It was the shittiest feeling in the world to know your mother didn't love you enough.

So much for 'unconditional' love.

Beca scoffed. Maybe that was why, before meeting Jesse, she didn't believe in love, as such. Love had been a fable, a wish, a dream. She had never experienced it since her parents' divorce, so she didn't have real cause to believe it. Love had been for idealists.

Not anymore. She did love her father even through the misunderstanding that he had wronged both her and her mum. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have gone to him for advice. She did (or had? She was too muddled up to make sense of it) love her mother – the separation, the final straw, wouldn't have hurt so bad that she didn't.

As for Jesse…

She wished that he hadn't been there to see the whole dirty business and arguments. But at the same time, it had felt so unbelievably good to know, for certain, that someone she cared about not only cared about her in return, but was solidly in her corner. He had stuck up for her. Again. This time, she didn't bite his head off. If nothing, she loved him for the fact he didn't abandon her. She was surprised he didn't run or shy away from the conflict (considering things had only been 'official' for less than three months) and it only increased her respect for Jesse as a man. He had been so attentive, so sweet, so level-headed that she was almost ashamed of her own instability. Not that he was perfect himself, he did have flaws, which Beca appreciated. It was just that…

Beca sighed harshly and flung herself onto her back, glaring up at the ceiling as if it was the core of all her problems.

She didn't know what to do with the information. While it readily slipped out that she 'loved her awesome nerds,' the Bella's, she knew she definitely wasn't ready to tell Jesse the true depth of feeling she had for him. Besides, the word 'love' was so…it sounded clingy and committed. It sounded too serious for what was her first real relationship with a guy.

'_But you've liked him for almost a year. Don't lie, it's not like you've just met,'_ she thought.

Then, to top all these things off, she was angry with herself. Angry that she hadn't done more to protect Jesse from Vicki. Angry that her efforts to have some peace between them hadn't worked out, and now she was intruding on Chloe until she and Jesse went to North Carolina, where she would be a hindrance to his time with his family. And all in all, she was pissed off that this all had to happen in the first place.

She would deal with the urge to cry about it later. Right now, Beca felt the poison of negativity coursing through her. She had to get rid of it enough so she wouldn't snap at Chloe and Jesse when they treated her with kindness when she got defensive.

"Get it together, Beca. Get it together," she whispered to herself.

It almost seemed impossible until she heard Jesse and Chloe singing.

They must have been talking and gotten onto the topic of music and ended up singing. Chloe was providing the bass line while Jesse was singing the tune, a song Beca didn't recognise. Whatever it was, it was soothing. Unexpectedly, their melded tones calmed Beca's raging emotions so much that her eyes closed, she relaxed, and she slipped away into sleep.

A little while later, when her friends went to check on Beca, they had shared a smile over her sleeping position, spread eagled on the bed with a faint smile on her face.

* * *

**A/N: Another shorter chapter, but I think Beca and Jesse need a day of nothing but chilling out before Chloe drags them all over town. What do you think? I feel like Beca's got a lot of things to think about right now, so I hope I conveyed that. **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourite/followed – I do apologise I didn't get to reply to my wonderful reviewers for last chapter, I'm a bit caught up in uni at the moment. But I deeply appreciate them. The New York stay is very short and confined to this chapter because the bulk of what's going to happen next is going to happen at Jesse's house.

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced and swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes Chapter 12 – An exhausting day**

* * *

It was exactly 2.47am the morning after arriving in New York.

How did Beca know that?

Because she was awake and glowering at the clock in Chloe's living area, watching as it ticked over to 2.48am. She couldn't sleep and was restless, and decided that rather than interrupting Jesse's sleep, she'd make herself some cocoa. Only Chloe didn't have cocoa – which was weird, considering Chloe had such a sweet tooth, but anyway – so Beca had been stuck with chamomile tea.

As she sipped the hot liquid, her petite form eased back into the plush cushioning of the couch and wondered when things were ever going to be normal for her again.

She was in deep thought for a while, enough so that when a soft voice asked, "Can't sleep?" she jolted, looking back to see Chloe standing at the entrance to the hallway.

"Obviously," Beca replied. She checked the clock and rolled her eyes. 3.13 and she still didn't feel like sleeping.

Chloe smiled at Beca's sarcasm and joined her on the couch. "It's okay. Some nights I can't sleep too. I get worried about things and one second I'm in bed trying to sleep, the next I'm watching True Blood or looking up music reviews."

"What are you worried over?" asked Beca.

The redhead shrugged. "Well, not so much tonight – although I am concerned for you Beca – but other times I wonder if breaking up with my ex Brendan was the right thing, or whether the journalism internship I've got with the Times is going to work out, if I made the right decision. You know, normal stuff to do with being on my own in the big city and making my own choices. My parents only live about 2 hours away, but still," she explained. She wiggled back, giving her friend a reassuring smile. "So, I'm here for you. I've been told I'm a good listener."

"Also a really nosy one too," Beca quipped, referring to the infamous shower incident.

They chuckled and as it tapered off into silence, Beca's gaze dropped to her tea like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. A ribbon of guilt twisted around her insides. She had been rude to Chloe upon arrival after she had graciously agreed to share her apartment for a few days, had barely spoken to either of her friends, and yet, here was Chloe, willing to talk and offer a supportive ear. "I don't mean to be even grumpier than usual," she offered as explanation.

Chloe cottoned on quick and embraced her friend briefly. "I can deal with it. I think you at your grumpiest can't match Aubrey at her most controlling," she joked, getting the brunette to chuckle once more. "Whatever it is you're going through, just, talk, you know? If not to me then-"

"Jesse knows."

"While that's great," the redhead said enthusiastically, "Jesse isn't the only shoulder to lean on. And sometimes you might want a girl perspective on things. Just someone, because when I saw you yesterday, it was like you were carrying an army pack of issues."

Beca thought about this and whispered, "You are the Bella I trust the most with deep shit. Amy's cool, so is Stacie and the rest of the girls, but I'm not sure about what they'd do about my crap. The thing is, I don't want to talk about it again when I'm trying to put it out of my mind for now."

Chloe nodded. "I understand completely." She patted Beca's leg and rose, heading back into her bedroom and leaving Beca to her melancholy thoughts.

* * *

Beca woke to the sound of popping bacon, the distinctive aroma of it making waking up so much more pleasant.

Blinking to clear her eyes of sleep, she noticed someone had at some point draped a blanket over her where she had fallen asleep on the couch somewhere around a quarter to four that morning.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," Jesse's warm voice murmured above her as he leaned over the back of the couch. "Did I hog the covers?"

"No, dork," Beca replied, rolling her eyes. "That's not why I left the bed. Can't you see the couch is obviously more comfortable?"

"Oh, ulterior motives, eh?" Jesse teased, waggling his eyebrows.

Beca was going to shoot back with something no doubt pithy and witty when Chloe cut across her, squealing, "Aw, that's adorable. Flirting when you wake up!"

"You call this flirting?" the brunette muttered, flinging the blanket off her and getting up (completely missing Jesse's admiring eyes taking in her shorts and tight tank top). "And it's _not_ adorable."

"So you say," sing-songed Chloe.

Jesse rolled his eyes in tandem in Beca. He didn't really feel like being squealed at this whole trip, no matter how cool Chloe was. He was faring better than his girlfriend, but he was still pretty upset by the recent events and didn't want to do anything too frivolous.

Unfortunately for Jesse, frivolity was on the agenda from the get go.

Chloe took them out shopping, and while she was looking at stilettos, Beca and Jesse snuck off to a music shop five stores down from Macy's. Chloe found them, unimpressed, and then directed them to a nearby art gallery, where Beca stayed ostensibly outside – Jesse and Chloe had gotten to talking about the art and it was all gobbledegook to her. At lunch, the tiny brunette surprised the other two (and the owner of the cafe) by wolfing down a triple-decker burger the size of her head. Jesse had chuckled while Chloe looked mildly disgusted while she ate her own (much smaller) chicken burger. Just when the couple thought they'd have an hour to relax, the redhead grabbed their hands, tugging them behind her (and ignoring odd looks from passerby) and down laneways and alleyways full of people of all types – buskers, homeless, old people, families – until they reached an alley filled with music and laughter.

It was an unofficial dancing group who practiced out in the open so the general public could watch. Chloe mentioned that she came to watch the group perform once a week. From there, they worked their way through a flea market selling vintage clothing and home wares and up to Broadway, where Chloe had a contact in one of the theatre box office's who had saved her tickets to the sold out re-release of _Spring Awakening_ the next night. It was in stunned disbelief that Beca and Jesse were dragged down three more shopping arcades before they arrived at a casual, but very chic cocktail bar, where Chloe enjoyed a mega cosmopolitan while the underage couple sipped ale and mocktails. One last stop before dinner was going into Central Park, where Chloe insisted that she take pictures of Beca and Jesse near statues, near the lake, pulling silly poses and such. While tired, the pair did it willingly. While Beca grimaced when they looked over the photos, Jesse pulled Chloe aside later and asked if she could email them to his phone when they got back to the apartment – these were the first couple pictures he ever had and immediately treasured them.

Exhausted, the trio went to dinner at Chloe's favourite Italian restaurant, where they fuelled their bodies with foccacia, squid ink pappardelle and osso bucco. They made the decision to stay and wait until their stomach's had cleared for dessert at Jesse's request. He had seen a serving of cannoli and lemon gelato he didn't want to pass up.

In the interim, the soft Italian guitar music emanating from speakers somewhere in the dining area bracketed the easy style of conversation, so that although they were tired, they were in good spirits – even Beca couldn't stay sour with the wonderful day she had.

When a certain chatty redhead left the table to use the bathroom, Beca leaned over and rested her head against Jesse's shoulder and breathed in deeply. The rumble of his chuckle vibrated close to her ear. He understood. She didn't need words to convey how she was feeling. It was a beautiful kind of numbness to be so totally distracted from the past tension.

Upon her return, Chloe flagged down a waiter for dessert. She shot Beca and Jesse a smug look at their position, with Beca leaning against him, but said nothing when the couple challenged her with glares daring her to tease.

Dessert came, stuffing them full, Jesse moaning with every bite of gelato he took.

Later, after returning to Chloe's apartment, Beca and Jesse laid on the guest bed after changing into their PJ's, stuffed, satisfied, and too tired to move.

"Wow."

"Yeah, wow. Chloe's a machine."

"More like a caffeine fuelled monster. Did you see how many coffees she had today?" Beca pointed out, groaning as she turned on her side to face Jesse.

"No." Jesse tilted his head towards her. "I don't think I want to know. That girl cray-cray," he said in a faux girly voice.

"Shut up weirdo, you sound so retarded like that."

Jesse challenged her with a smirk. "What are you going to do? Pillow fight me?"

"Don't tempt me. I'm too worn out by today," sighed Beca.

"Good thing too, considering I'm the Swanson pillow fight champion."

Beca scoffed. "You? Please."

"I am!" protested Jesse, "I've beaten Hallie and Casey too many times to count. I could be, like, the champion of Raleigh for you know." He pulled a face, getting her to smile. It was moments like this, just the two of them and teasing each other, that Beca found the most solidarity with him. Although her muscles screamed in complaint, sore as they were, she pulled herself up and slid over, straddling him. Those gorgeous dark eyes widened in surprise and his breath hitched.

"Any particular reason you've decided to squish my stomach?" he questioned.

"It looked comfy." Her eyes sparkled deviously and Jesse got the gist.

"Oh. Just cos my abs aren't carved out of granite like a certain asshole station manager they're squishy," Jesse said drolly.

Beca just smiled at him, so relieved they were coming out of this okay and leaned down, pressing her lips against his. He returned it eagerly, letting Beca take the reins. It was soft, comforting, more than anything.

Until his body started to react to the sensations the kiss was producing, and he pulled away, groaning.

"What's wrong?" she asked, confused, and shifted back to see his face better and realised just _what_ Jesse was mortified about, if the look on his face was any indication. Honestly, she was flattered. She giggled and sat back further against him, twinges of anticipation radiating from the pit of her stomach and up her body when she felt heat radiating from a certain part of his anatomy. "Oh, what is this? A flashlight in your pants?" she teased.

"_No_, that is definitely not a flashlight," said Jesse, taking her hand and kissing the palm slowly. He did it to try and control the urge to try and put his seduction plans (as nerdy and as hopeful they were) into action. He wanted her, all of her, but she wasn't ready. He knew. He wasn't even ready yet. He had his own insecurities in that area without complicating it with desire that was ahead of itself.

But still.

She was so warm, so gorgeous by the lamplight…

"Beca," Jesse murmured, his eyes shining with vulnerability. Oh, if she knew the power she had over him – he really was pathetic, so far gone on Beca.

"Hmm?"

"Any way I can get out of this without making myself look like a fool?" he asked. When she shot him a look, he smirked and continued, "Well, less of a fool?"

"I don't think it's foolish," Beca replied, tracing the outline of his lips. "It's only natural. I'd be more worried if I _didn't_ feel anything."

They laughed and Beca slipped off his body, laying next to him and sighing in contentment.

Really, the perks of having a boyfriend that smelled good and always seemed to be unnaturally warm was endless.

"Oh my, Miss Mitchell, are you _cuddling_?"

Except when said boyfriend was a meddling smart alec.

"This isn't cuddling," Beca admonished, burrowing further into his side with a hidden smirk.

A poke to her side and his warm voice. "I think it is. I mean, I know I'm irresistible, but I'm thinking your parents should have called you 'leech' as a child."

"You're warm. I need warmth to sleep. I'm just using you," she pointed out.

"You're snuggling into me," Jesse said, grinning.

"Shut up."

"No way! You're a cuddler! That's adorable." Jesse wrapped an arm around her shoulders and chuckled when small fingers danced up and down his ribs to tickle him, and then gave him a light punch. While his slight problem was making his boxers tight, it was bearable for the contact Beca was giving him.

"Weirdo, if you don't keep this to yourself I'll take that DVD collection of yours and burn all of Justin Beiber and One Direction over the movies," Beca threatened.

Jesse wisely decided to stop that line of teasing. Instead he murmured, "Have a good sleep. I have a feeling we're going to need it for whatever torture Chloe has waiting for us tomorrow."

Beca's aggravated half groan/half snicker was the last thing he heard before succumbing to his own exhaustion.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this one! Like with last chapter, I don't think I'll be able to reply to reviews, so in advance: THANK YOU, THE REVIEW WAS AWESOME! **

**In next chapter, North Carolina/Meet the Parents prt2. **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Yes, I realise this was terribly late and it's also REALLY short. RL is kicking my butt. Sorry **

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast plus some other characters. **

**Warnings: Mature situations referenced and swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.**

* * *

**Hurricanes Chapter 13 – Dreamgirls Interlude**

* * *

With every mile that passed on their journey from New York to North Carolina, Beca was relieved.

While Chloe had been a fantastic friend and an enthusiastic tour guide, she was tired. Shoving aside all her feelings about the situation with her mother, in hindsight, wasn't the best idea.

Through all the things they had done, the shopping, the eating, the drinking, the musical that they had seen together, Beca had felt an odd emptiness she couldn't shake or ignore. She reckoned that it was her heart trying to heal over the open wound of her mother's hatred and pettiness. She was only numb to it when she had curled up with the world's most patient boyfriend in the world at night, breathing in the smell of fresh linen and either talking about her feelings or stubbornly keeping her mouth shut. It was in that cover of darkness, unable to see Jesse's face, that Beca felt free to express herself.

At least Jesse was his usual self. He was back to treating her the same way, with both tenderness and teasing. Although at the moment he wasn't talking to her because she had eaten the last packet of twizzlers. Instead he was watching the movie 'Dreamgirls' on his beloved laptop, not bothering with earphones and letting the sound blare out in retaliation.

Beca had to admit, from where she was sitting, trying to concentrate on the road as she navigated the freeway, the movie sounded good – and this was coming from an avid avoider of musicals, simply because the 'hey, everyone randomly burst into song' thing just didn't cut it for her.

It amused her to no end when Jesse would sing along to the tunes. It was a marker of just how many times he had watched the movie, listened to the songs.

It was also a bonus as far as Beca was concerned. She enjoyed Jesse's singing so much, and the warmth that filled her up from it.

At some point later, Beca was only half-listening to the movie when Beyonce began to belt out lyrics that caught her attention.

She sucked in a breath.

Was there some person controlling the strings somewhere to make this song come out at such a time? It was the fucking story of her life, her relationship with the person who had given birth to her.

"Beca? Are you crying?" came Jesse's surprised voice.

"Play the song again," she demanded, refusing to confirm the truth.

Although he rolled his eyes and shook his head like she was mad, he did it anyway, rewinding the scene until the song began again. The opening bars of soft piano resonated through Beca's soul, the exact same feeling as when she had listened to 'Bulletproof' and 'Titanium' and about a hundred other songs that gave her goose bumps whenever she heard them because of the sheer emotion it unlocked within her.

By the time the song finished again, Beca had turned off the motorway and to a service station, hoping to god that she wouldn't cause an accident with the tears blurring her vision. When she parked, she turned to Jesse – ignoring his wide-eyed, bewildered stare – and asked once more, "Play the song one more time."

He did.

She did nothing but lean back and listen to the song. "Listen," by Beyonce playing her role as Deena. She barely noticed Jesse get out and head towards the glass doors of the service station. All Beca could focus was the resonating words, the powerful surge of emotion that rocked through her.

This was what she had needed all this time. Someone else, singing words, not knowing they would reach a broken soul. Her soul, finally fixing herself.

She had followed her own voice, the voice that her mother had _thought_ she had given to Beca. In reality, Beca's inner voice had been forged by music and by the determination to be herself in the face of the crap the world threw at her. And because of that, she was free.

The tears had dried on their own, Jesse was still doing whatever the hell he was doing in the shopping area of the building and here she was, cleansed.

Beca smiled to herself, feeling the tension just evaporate right out of her petite frame.

"Of course," she muttered to herself sarcastically, "I had to have this epiphany _now_. Not before the crap, but after the crap." She ran a hand through her hair, dishevelling it and sighing.

An errant thought occurred to her and Beca groaned.

She realised that she now owed Jesse one for setting up the circumstances in which she heard the song.

Damnit.

* * *

"You know, if I knew that song would have been your therapy I would have played it a hell of a lot earlier."

"You aren't psychic last time I checked," shrugged Beca, grabbing the packet of pretzels from her boyfriend in exchange for chips. They were both leaning against her car, staring out towards a park they had found and casually discussing her latest breakdown.

"I've tried and failed miserably." Jesse pushed his sunglasses up so they perched on his messy mop of hair and was utterly serious. "Are you okay? I know I'm sounding like a broken, skippy record but I care for you so much. I hate seeing you like this."

Beca nodded, leaning against him to show she was being truthful. "Yeah. I mean, slowly, I'm getting better."

"Good," Jesse replied, crumpling up the now empty packet of chips and tossing it into the trash before bending to kiss Beca's full lips. He hummed, tasting the wonderful salt combo of chips and pretzels and leaning back, getting the full force of one of Beca's rare expressions of tenderness. He was relieved and hoped they could put this behind them. As much as he supported Beca, it would beyond awesome if they could just take some time for themselves so he could properly romance her and treat her right, the way she should be treated.

"Do you want me to play it again?" he asked as they got back into her car.

Beca had a far off look on her face a for a moment before she shook her head, hopped back out and went around to his side. "How about I watch it and you drive?" she suggested impishly.

Jesse chuckled and replied, "Sure, shrimp."

"Get out and hand over the laptop, dork," Beca said with her ever present rolling of the eyes.

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, it took me ages to get this out. I'm sorry. Reviews are always appreciated nevertheless. Also, the lyrics to the song Beca heard are below. I think it's very fitting for her. **

Listen to the song here in my heart  
A melody I start but can't complete  
Listen to the sound from deep within  
It's only beginning  
To find release

Oh,  
The time has come  
For my dreams to be heard  
They will not be pushed aside and turned  
Into your own  
All cause you won't  
Listen...

_[Chorus:]_  
Listen,  
I am alone at a crossroads  
I'm not at home in my own home  
And I've tried and tried  
To say what's on my mind  
You should have known  
Oh,  
Now I'm done believing you  
You don't know what I'm feeling  
I'm more than what you made of me  
I followed the voice you gave to me  
But now I gotta find my own.

You should have listened  
There is someone here inside  
Someone I thought had died  
So long ago

Oh I'm screaming out, and my dreams will be heard  
They will not be pushed aside or worked  
Into your own  
All cause you won't  
Listen...

_[Chorus]_

I don't know where I belong  
But I'll be moving on  
If you don't...  
If you won't...

...listen to the song here in my heart  
A melody I've started but I will complete  
Oh,  
Now I'm done believing you  
You don't know what I'm feeling  
I'm more than what you've made of me  
I followed the voice you think you gave to me  
But now I gotta find my own,  
My own.


End file.
